The U.S. Treasury Department raised eyebrows and jogged worrying memories of the financial crisis Sunday with a statement that Secretary Steve Mnuchin convened calls with the CEOs of six leading banks to confirm they had ample liquidity, in hopes of averting another Wall Street selloff Monday.

But left unsaid: If he’s that worried, shouldn’t investors be as well?

The unusual and unprompted attempt at reassurance came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.19% posted its worst week since 2008 — the height of the financial crisis. It was the Nasdaq Composite’s COMP, +0.36% worst week since 2008 as well, as it dipped into bear-market territory. It was the worst week for the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% since 2011.

Wall Street sank again in light Monday trading.

On Sunday, the Treasury Department tweeted that Mnuchin “conducted a series of calls today with the CEOs of the nation’s six largest banks” — Bank of America BAC, +0.34% , Citi C, +0.81% , Goldman Sachs GS, +4.83% , JPMorgan Chase JPM, -0.08% , Morgan Stanley MS, +0.40% and Wells Fargo WFC, +2.14% . “The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumers, business markets, and all other market operations. He also confirmed that they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues and that the markets continue to function properly.”

The statement added that Mnuchin, who is on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, will hold a call Monday with the President’s Working Group on financial markets “to discuss coordination efforts to assure normal market operations.”

While apparently intended to as a pre-emptive reassurance to investors, the tweet may have done just the opposite, stoking fears that the government is bracing for the worst:

U.S. stock futures were last slightly higher, after Dow futures US:YMH9 fell 77 points shortly after trading began Sunday, but quickly recovered to positive territory. S&P 500 US:ESH9 and Nasdaq futures US:NQH9 reversed early declines as well.

Despite the recent stock slump, U.S. economic data remains fairly strong. And while banks were at the center of the downturn a decade ago, the current market slide has been more due to trade fears, monetary policy and political uncertainty. Last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech that the financial system was stable.

In a tweet Saturday, Mnuchin denied that President Donald Trump has talked about firing Powell, who had drawn the president’s wrath for continuing to raise interest rates, saying that Trump said he “never suggested firing Chairman Jay Powell, nor do I believe I have the right to do so.”