Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Steve Mnuchin’s Attempt To Calm Investors About The Economy Totally Backfired

An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to calm fears of a nose-diving economy backfired Sunday after his statements prompted worry from the very people he was speaking to, Bloomberg reported.

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Mnuchin said he called the CEOs of the country’s six largest banks, and that the CEOs reassured him that they have “ample liquidity,” or plenty of cash reserves. But, as Bloomberg put it, many are questioning “why Mnuchin answered a question that no one was asking.” Despite the recent economic downturn, few analysts have expressed concerns about a broader lack of liquiity.

“My initial instinct is this [Mnuchin’s statement] isn’t necessarily a positive thing, because it portrays that there’s worries that there is a bigger, broader issue,” Nathan Thooft, head of global asset allocation Manulife Asset Management, told Bloomberg.

The Atlantic suggested that Mnuchin’s statements could have three meanings: One, it was meant to reassure President Trump about the market; two, to reassure investors; or three, it is evidence that Mnuchin has “troubling insider knowledge” about the immediate future of the economy.

Mnuchin has not issued any statements on his calls since Sunday.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.