FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during his interview with Reuters in Jerusalem October 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
December 23, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Secretary said on Sunday he had held a series of phone conversations with top American bankers in what appeared to be a bid to ease nerves in financial markets.
U.S. stocks have plunged in recent weeks on concerns over slowing economic growth, with the S&P 500 index <.SPX> on pace for its biggest percentage decline in December since the Great Depression.
“Today I convened individual calls with the CEOs of the nation’s six largest banks,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Twitter.
The Treasury said in a statement that Mnuchin talked with the chief executives at Bank of America <BAC.N>, Citi <C.N>, Goldman Sachs <GS.N>, JP Morgan Chase <JPM.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N> and Wells Fargo <WFC.N>.
“The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending,” the Treasury said.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Dan Grebler and Rosalba O’Brien)
