Mnuchin Spares Treasury Market Nerve Center Amid Trading Tumult
Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  will spare the departmentâs markets room from an internal push to shutter or outsource an operation that was the agencyâs nerve center as it tried to contain the 2008 financial crisis.
The unit  staffed by about 10 career Treasury officials  came into the crosshairs of some of  Mnuchinâs  senior advisers as the Trump administration tries to trim overall government spending  according to three people familiar with the matter.
Steven Mnuchin Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
But  Mnuchin  says  he  has no intention of closing down an office that gained stature a decade ago under Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson --  his  former boss at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The recent rout in share prices as bond yields became unhinged provides  Mnuchin  the perfect reason to keep the markets unit open.
âThe markets desk is important to have â  Mnuchin  said last week in an interview with Bloomberg News. âIt allows us  in times of uncertainty  to monitor lots of things.â
The operation  with its roughly 10 Bloomberg and Reuters terminals  prepares daily briefings for  Mnuchin  and President Donald Trump on financial markets  can dive deep into particular regions or asset classes to help policy making  and is available around the clock.
 Mnuchin  has found other ways to cut costs.  He  has left open the departmentâs No. 2 post  deputy secretary  and reduced staffing levels.  He  announced plans to cut the Office of Financial Research  a byproduct of the Dodd-Frank law  by a third.
Having about 10 people inside Treasury dedicated to the job in the markets room among 70 000 employees at Treasury is âa good investment â  he  said.
During the recent market frenzy   Mnuchin  said  he  spoke with executives at three of the larger banks  along with officials from the New York Federal Reserve  the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission.  He  checked  his  iPhone every few minutes for updates  even during  his  appearance at a congressional hearing on Feb. 6.
 Mnuchin  has called the volatility a correction  brushing aside investor concerns about rising prices. Markets have since calmed.
âPeople should actually take a lot of confidence in the fact that we could have this big of a correction and the system worked fine â  Mnuchin  said.
[TGT] will spare the departmentâs markets room from an internal push to shutter or outsource an operation that was the agencyâs nerve center as  [TGT]  tried to contain the 2008 financial crisis.
The unit  staffed by about 10 career Treasury officials  came into the crosshairs of some of  Mnuchinâs  senior advisers as the Trump administration tries to trim overall government spending  according to three people familiar with the matter.
Steven Mnuchin Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
But   [TGT] says  he  has no intention of closing down an office that gained stature a decade ago under Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson --  his  former boss at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The recent rout in share prices as bond yields became unhinged provides  Mnuchin  the perfect reason to keep the markets unit open.
âThe markets desk is important to have â   [TGT]   said last week in an interview with Bloomberg News. âIt allows us  in times of uncertainty  to monitor lots of things.â
The operation  with its roughly 10 Bloomberg and Reuters terminals  prepares daily briefings for  Mnuchin  and President Donald Trump on financial markets  can dive deep into particular regions or asset classes to help policy making  and is available around the clock.
  [TGT] has found other ways to cut costs.   [TGT]   has left open the departmentâs No. 2 post  deputy secretary  and reduced staffing levels.   [TGT]   announced plans to cut the Office of Financial Research  a byproduct of the Dodd-Frank law  by a third.
Having about 10 people inside Treasury dedicated to the job in the markets room among 70 000 employees at Treasury is âa good investment â  he  said.
During the recent market frenzy    [TGT] said  he  spoke with executives at three of the larger banks  along with officials from the New York Federal Reserve  the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission.  He  checked  his  iPhone every few minutes for updates  even during  his  appearance at a congressional hearing on Feb. 6.
  [TGT] has called the volatility a correction  brushing aside investor concerns about rising prices. Markets have since calmed.
âPeople should actually take a lot of confidence in the fact that we could have this big of a correction and the system worked fine â   [TGT] said.