Big banks bagged a fortune in fees from distributing cash in the US government's aid program for small businesses stricken by the coronavirus, according to fresh data.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is trying to get elite preparatory schools with large endowments to return Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were intended for small businesses as part of the coronavirus stimulus program.

Hedge fund and private equity firms are not eligible for the types of US government loans designed to provide relief to small businesses.

SBA has released limited data showing granular loan activity by bank, making it hard to pinpoint how many loans and of what size each firm made.