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| Mnuchin promises to boost US growth as Treasury boss | Mnuchin promises to boost US growth as Treasury boss |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin has promised to boost the US economy and cut taxes in his new role as Treasury secretary. | Former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin has promised to boost the US economy and cut taxes in his new role as Treasury secretary. |
| Confirming his appointment in an interview with CNBC, he said that "sustained economic growth" would be his chief priority. | Confirming his appointment in an interview with CNBC, he said that "sustained economic growth" would be his chief priority. |
| He also said the US could "absolutely" achieve a 3-4% growth rate, one of Donald Trump's key pledges. | |
| Wilbur Ross has also been confirmed as the new Commerce Department head. | |
| Mr Mnuchin, 53, is relatively unknown as a public figure, despite building a career as a successful private equity investor and Hollywood financier. | Mr Mnuchin, 53, is relatively unknown as a public figure, despite building a career as a successful private equity investor and Hollywood financier. |
| He spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002 to set up an investment group which funded big movies such as "Avatar" and "Suicide Squad." | He spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002 to set up an investment group which funded big movies such as "Avatar" and "Suicide Squad." |
| Mortgage controversy | |
| More controversially, he persuaded billionaires George Soros and John Paulson to buy the failed California bank IndyMac in 2009, which had collapsed under a portfolio of high-risk sub-prime mortgage loans. | |
| Rebranded as OneWest the bank grew to become one of California's largest lenders. | |
| But it was also accused of generating driving homeowners into foreclosure to generate earnings - claims Mr Mnuchin has denied. | |
| He has been described as bipartisan and politically neutral, however he has known Donald Trump for 15 years and worked as his presidential campaign's finance chairman. | |
| Like Mr Trump, Mr Mnuchin has also criticised the Dodd Frank act - brought in by the Obama administration to stabilise the banking system - saying it prevented banks lending to smaller businesses. | |
| He told CNBC the new administration would bring in the "the largest tax change'" since President Ronald Reagan - cutting the corporate tax rate to 15%. | |
| He also promised a big "middle-class income tax cut" and to simplify tax bands. | |
| Financier Wilbur Ross has been called the "king of bankruptcy" for buying distressed companies and turning them around. |