Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in “no danger of failing.”

The Fed chief made his remarks as he appeared before the House Financial Services Committee, in his second day on Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on the problems plaguing the economy. He appears amid a backdrop of fading confidence in the U.S. financial system and in the national economy.

The Fed and the Treasury Department on Sunday came to the rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, offering to throw them a financial lifeline.