Alan Greenspan was the U.S. Federal Reserve chair who issued the reassuring statement after the 1987 stock-market crash.
On October 20, 1987, the day after Black Monday, the Federal Reserve said it was prepared to serve as a source of liquidity to support the economic and financial system. The statement was brief, but markets interpreted it as a powerful signal that the central bank would help prevent a payments crisis.
Greenspan had become Fed chair in August 1987, succeeding Paul Volcker. His response helped establish the idea that a central bank could stabilize markets during a sudden financial shock, although the phrase “Greenspan put” was coined later to describe perceived investor expectations of policy support.
The statement did not reverse the entire crash immediately, and it did not prove that monetary policy alone caused the subsequent recovery. The episode also prompted reforms, including coordinated work by regulators and the introduction of market-wide trading halts in the United States.