Treasury sees resilience in markets, economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Treasury official on Tuesday urged Americans to remain confident in the soundness and resilience of the U.S. financial system and said the economy would continue to grow this year despite market turmoil.

David McCormick, the Treasury's undersecretary for international affairs, said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Brookings Institution that the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and market participants took "extraordinary steps" to mitigate disruption surrounding the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings

"As (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson said yesterday, while what's happening is not easy -- and significant challenges remain -- the American people can remain confident in the soundness and resilience of our banking and financial system," McCormick said.

McCormick spoke in place of Paulson, who withdrew from the event to monitor market developments amid talks to shore up American International Group, and made no mention of the embattled insurance giant.

(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)