The U.S. Treasury has selected three financial firms to advise the government on distributing loans to the airline industry as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

At a press briefing Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said PJT Partners (PJT 0.09%) and Moelis (MC -1.12%), two investment banks, and financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners will act as financial advisors. Each will advise on a different area, Mnuchin said: PJT on passenger airlines, Moelis on cargom and Perella on national security. He added, "and there will be three law firms, which we will announce shortly."

Two airport workers standing on the tarmac with an airplane in the background

Image Source: Getty Images

Mnuchin said at the press briefing that the fees to the banks will be small.

"I want to thank them," said Mnuchin. "They are all working for basically very, very little money. They couldn't work for free, so they've agreed to basically work for what they would sign up to work for a charitable organization. So again, no big fees to bankers."

The CARES Act provides about $25 billion in grants to commercial airlines, about $4 billion to cargo carriers and approximately $3 billion for contractors.

"Anything we do with the airlines, they have to maintain substantially all of their employees, any money we provide them will go to pay their employees," Mnuchin said. "There are very strict requirements built into that bill."