Mnuchin called top bank execs on market stability

Bloomberg

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called top executives from the six largest US banks over the weekend, he said on Twitter, a move that followed heavy losses in the stock market last week and a partial federal government shutdown.
“The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumer, business markets, and all other market operations,” the Treasury said in a statement attached to Mnuchin’s tweet. “He also confirmed that they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues, and that the markets continue to function properly.”
On Monday, Mnuchin was set to convene a call with the President’s Working Group on financial markets, which he chairs, according to the statement. The group, which was created after the 1987 stock market crash, includes representatives from the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
“We continue to see strong economic growth in the US economy with robust activity from consumers and business,” Mnuchin said in the statement.
A Treasury spokesman said Mnuchin initiated the individual calls with the six bankers because he felt that having conversations with major market participants, as well as holding the Working Group call, was prudent given considerable market volatility. The S&P 500 fell 7.1 percent last week and the Nasdaq Composite Index entered a bear market.
Meanwhile, Monday was set to mark day three of a partial federal government shutdown with no immediate end in sight. “With the government shut down, Treasury will have critical employees to maintain its core operations,” Mnuchin said in the Treasury’s statement.