George B. Cortelyou, the U.S. Treasury secretary, helped calm the Panic of 1907 by arranging emergency support for the financial system.
Cortelyou deposited federal funds in selected New York banks, increasing available liquidity as depositors withdrew money and trust companies faced runs. His actions complemented the private intervention led by financier J. P. Morgan, whose rescue role is more widely remembered. Together, public funds and private coordination helped prevent the panic from becoming an even broader collapse.
The Panic of 1907 exposed weaknesses in the United States banking system, which lacked a central bank able to act as lender of last resort. The crisis helped create political support for the Federal Reserve System, established in 1913. Cortelyou is sometimes overlooked because Morgan's name dominates popular accounts, but the Treasury secretary's deployment of federal deposits was a crucial government response.