 Morgan summoned the presidents of the city 's banks to his office . They started to arrive at 2 p.m. ; Morgan informed them that as many as 50 stock exchange houses would fail unless $ 25 million was raised in 10 minutes . By 2 : 16 p.m. , 14 bank presidents had pledged $ 23 @.@ 6 million to keep the stock exchange afloat . The money reached the market at 2 : 30 p.m. , in time to finish the day 's trading , and by the 3 o 'clock market close , $ 19 million had been loaned out . Disaster was averted . Morgan usually eschewed the press , but as he left his offices that night he made a statement to reporters : " If people will keep their money in the banks , everything will be all right " . 
