While the U.S. has a slow-growing economy, it can handle an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick said Monday.
"The U.S. economy is perfectly reasonably OK at its 2 percent growth. It could perfectly reasonably take a move from a quarter percent to a half a percent. It's not that big a move," he said in an interview on CNBC's "Power Lunch" from the firm's annual charity day.
"The U.S. economy is ready for it and would accept it positively."
Lutnick's comments come on the heels of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon calling for rate hikes.
"Twenty-five basis points is a drop in the bucket," Dimon said in an interview with Carlyle Group co-CEO David Rubenstein on Monday at The Economic Club of Washington.
A slew of Fed officials have also been weighing in ahead of next week's policy meeting. On Monday, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the central bank should continue to keep policy loose, urging "prudence" in the decision on rates. Other officials have been more hawkish, including Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren. On Friday, Rosengren said that low interest rates are increasing the chance of overheating the U.S. economy. Gradually tightening monetary policy is appropriate to maintaining full employment, he added.
Lutnick thinks the central bank wants to get to a 0.5 percent rate, but will probably get there in December.
— CNBC's Jon Marino and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.