Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has also in the past day sought to assure markets that President Donald Trump will not attempt to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. | Shawn Thew - Pool/Getty Images Economy Mnuchin speaks with big bank CEOs about market stability

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday spoke with the CEOs of the six largest U.S. banks, who assured him that they have enough cash to lend money and continue all market operations, according to a readout from the department.

Treasury did not say what motivated the statement, though it comes in the midst of a partial government shutdown and after the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst week since 2008.


Mnuchin in the past day has also sought to assure markets that President Donald Trump will not attempt to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell – a move that would ratchet up anxiety among already-skittish investors.

But if Treasury's statement was intended to calm the markets, it risked having the opposite effect. It was met with widespread bewilderment and nervousness, given the department's mention of a concern -- the liquidity of the banks -- that wasn’t even on the radar of many investors.

“Hoping the markets read this as strange instead of terrifying,” said Diane Swonk, the chief economist at Grant Thornton on Twitter. “I am completely baffled.”

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In calls with Mnuchin, the CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo “confirmed that they have ample liquidity available” and that “they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues and that the markets continue to function properly,” according to Treasury.

The banks did not independently confirm Treasury's characterization of the conversations.

Mnuchin will also have a call with the President’s Working Group on financial markets on Monday, which is Christmas Eve, to “discuss coordination efforts to assure normal market operations.” The working group includes the Federal Reserve, the SEC and CFTC.

“We continue to see strong economic growth in the U.S. economy with robust activity from consumers and business,” Mnuchin said in a statement. “With the government shutdown, Treasury will have critical employees to maintain its core operations at Fiscal Services, IRS, and other critical functions within the department.”