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Global central bank chiefs said they “stand in full solidarity” with Jay Powell, in an unprecedented show of support after US authorities opened a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve chair.
Central bank governors from 11 institutions on Tuesday issued a statement saying they “stand in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H Powell”, who has been the target of repeated attacks by the Trump administration.
“The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve,” the statement said.
The signatories included European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of Canada chief Tiff Macklem and Pablo Hernández de Cos, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements.
US prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Powell over a $2.5bn renovation of the Fed’s headquarters, sharply escalating the Trump administration’s attacks on the central bank.
Powell, who has previously played down the tensions with US President Donald Trump, has dismissed the investigation as a pretext aimed at robbing the Fed of its monetary policy independence.
This is a developing story