Central bankers express solidarity with Fed Chair Jerome Powell

In a rare move, heads of ten monetary authorities including the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) expressed solidarity with the Chair of U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, after he stated that he was being subjected to political pressure from the U.S. President Donald Trump to cut interest rates.

“We stand in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell. The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability. Chair Powell has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest. To us, he is a respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him,” said the group of central bankers in a public post that was published in the Bank of England website.

The group consists of Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, Erik Thedéen, Governor of Swedish Central Bank, Christian Kettel Thomsen who heads the Denmak’s central bank, Martin Schlegel of Swiss central bank. Michele Bullock of Australian Central Bank, Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, Chang Yong Rhee, head of the Bank of Korea, and Gabriel Galípolo, who heads the Bank of Brazil. This list also included François Villeroy de Galhau and Pablo Hernández de Cos who are the Chairman and the General Manager of BIS respectively.

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Central banks’ chairs expressed solidarity highlighting central bank independence. Interestingly, banking regulators of the ten largest economies by USD current prices, including EU have participated in the initiative, barring India, China, Japan and Russian Federation. Queries sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding their absence in the statement were unanswered till press time.

The move comes after Mr. Powell said that he was threatened with a criminal indictment citing cost overruns in the renovation project in the Federal Reserve, but in fact were aimed at pressuring the central bank to further cut interest rates. As of December monetary policy, the effective interest rates stand at 3.64% after a 0.25% cut last month. Most global banks and experts expect that the Fed will hold rates in its next meeting as labour market conditions are relatively stronger and does not warrant an immediate cut.

Mr. Trump however has been pressuring the Fed Chair to make deep interest rate cuts which would effectively reduce the cost of financing government deficit–the excess of expense over revenue which governments finance through borrowings. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Mr. Powell said in a video released on Sunday (January 11, 2026).