Fed Chair Jerome Powell is back for a second day of testimony at 10:00 a.m. before House Financial Services. He’s unlikely to say anything different beyond the central bank’s commitment to easy money and his desire to see Congress pass Covid stimulus soon … President Biden will issue an executive order on U.S. supply chains (more below) … BIDEN ON SUPPLY CHAINS — Via our Gavin Bade: “The president … will sign an executive order instituting 100-day reviews of the supply chains for four industries: semiconductors, large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and their active ingredients, and critical minerals used in electronics. The reviews will study whether those sectors are overly reliant on competitor nations, particularly China, as well as environmental threats and other risks. ‘Clearly we are looking at the risks posed by dependence on competitor nations, but that is only one of a range of risks we are looking at,’ a senior official told reporters last night.” HOW THE WHITE HOUSE BLEW IT ON TANDEN — Our Natasha Korecki and Burgess Everett: “Just about everyone in Washington, D.C., could see that Neera Tanden’s nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget was beleaguered from the beginning — everyone, that is, except the White House. “At the time her nomination was announced, Democrats didn’t even control the Senate and Tanden’s history of sharp-elbowed politics and highly personal Twitter attacks had made her enemies on the left and right. But Biden and his team, headed by White House chief of staff Ron Klain, felt strongly that they could sway Republicans to back her. … Today, the White House can’t even get all Democrats on board. And Mitch McConnell is urging the GOP to band together to take Tanden down. BANKS BOUNCE BACK — Our Victoria Guida: “Bank profits suffered last year as the coronavirus pandemic led them to set aside billions in anticipation of losses on their loan books, but by the fourth quarter those profits had recovered to near-record highs, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. “Aggregate net income in the banking sector was $59.9 billion during the fourth quarter of 2020, back in line with booming profit levels during 2018 and 2019, even though net interest income declined for the fifth straight quarter. By contrast, annual net income was only $147.9 billion, a 36.5 percent decline from the year before.” POWELL ON CLIMATE RISK DISCLOSURE — Also via Victoria: “Powell … said there should eventually be some standardization in how financial institutions disclose the risks they face from climate change, though he did not say whether such disclosures should be mandatory. "At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Powell said disclosure requirements are the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission but said ‘financial institutions everywhere’ are working on these issues.” ADEYMO FACES BIG TASKS AT TREASURY — Our Zachary Warmbrodt: “Senators … gave Adewale ‘Wally’ Adeyemo … Biden’s pick for the No. 2 job at the Treasury Department, a long list of tasks, from rescuing the economy and taking on China to combating climate change. “Once in office, though, one of the biggest challenges that Adeyemo, 39, will face is rebuilding an agency that saw key divisions hollowed out in the Trump era. Reconstituting Treasury's staff, in addition to leading the administration's economic relief efforts in the pandemic, will be Adeyemo's top responsibility once he's confirmed to serve as the department's deputy secretary, becoming the first Black American to ever hold that job.” | 
