Big Bank CEOs Urge U.S. Debt Limit Deal

In a letter signed by a who’s-who of large U.S. bank CEOs, Wall Street urged members of Congress to join together and get a deal in place to raise the U.S. borrowing limit by the end of the week.

“We write to you today to urge you to act this week to reach an agreement that will ensure that our nation continues to meet all of its financial obligations, and that will entail meaningful and concrete steps to put our nation on a sound fiscal footing,” the letter said. It was delivered to Congress and President Obama early Thursday.

The letter was signed by the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other large U.S. banks.

“A default on our nation’s obligations, or a downgrade of America’s credit rating, would be a tremendous blow to business and investor confidence — raising interest rates for everyone who borrows, undermining the value of the dollar, and roiling stock and bond markets — and, therefore, dramatically worsening our nation’s already difficult economic circumstances,” the letter stated.