Trump held a call with top Wall Street execs as markets tumbled Wednesday

REUTERS/Jason Reed

CEOs arrive at the White House in Washington, October 2, 2013, for a meeting of the Financial Services Forum with U.S. President Barack Obama. Pictured (L-R) are Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup, Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, Jay Hooley, chairman of State Street Corporation, and Gerald L. Hassell, chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon.

• President Donald Trump was briefed by Wall Street executives from some of the largest banks on a conference call Wednesday.
• That came as recession concerns sent stocks to their worst close of the year.
• The White House has publicly maintained a rosy view of the economy despite ongoing trade tensions.
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As recession concerns sent financial markets sharply lower Wednesday, President Donald Trump was briefed by Wall Street executives from some of the largest banks on a conference call.

"They talked about the economy and markets and what kind of consumer activity was going on," said a person familiar with the call Trump held with Bank of America's Brian Moynihan, Citigroup's Michael Corbat, and JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon.

The bank executives had held a previously scheduled meeting that day with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to discuss anti-money laundering initiatives and other issues, the person said. The call, which was first reported by Bloomberg, took place at the end of that meeting.

After a key recession warning flashed for the first time since before the global financial crisis in 2007, stocks suffered their worst day of the year Wednesday. Investors have become increasingly jittery over escalating trade tensions between the US and China and weaker global growth.

The White House has publicly maintained a rosy view of the economy, however. Trump and his advisers have downplayed concerns about his tariffs, which he intents to extend to nearly all products from China in the coming months.

Asked on Thursday whether he was concerned by the recent recession signal, Trump replied: "Well, I think we're going to have a very long period of wealth and success. Other countries are doing very poorly. As you know, China is doing very, very poorly. The tariffs have really bitten into China."

Spokespeople at the White House, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America did not offer comment Friday afternoon. The Treasury Department did not respond to an email requesting comment.

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