FRANKFURT: The heads of 11 central banks from across the globe came together to condemn the US Department of Justice investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has decried the action against him as a “pretext” to secure presidential influence over interest rates.

Issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Tuesday, the statement was co-signed by Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England; Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada; and Michele Bullock, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, among others.

“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,” the statement said.

It further emphasised that “It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.”

Other central bank governors who co-signed the statement included: Chang Yong Rhee of the Bank of Korea; Erik Thedéen of Sweden’s central bank; Christian Kettel Thomse of Denmark’s National Bank; Martin Schlegel of the Swiss National Bank; Ida Wolden Bache of Norway’s central bank; Gabriel Galípolo of Brazil’s central bank; and Lesetja Kganyago of the South African Reserve Bank.

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, signed on behalf of the euro zone’s 21 central banks, and, according to sources cited by Reuters, she was the key driver of the joint response.

François Villeroy de Galhau, the Chairman of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) — a central bank umbrella body — also co-signed the statement alongside BIS’s general manager Pablo Hernández de Cos, who, according to Reuters, was responsible for getting individual governors on board.

“Chair Powell has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest,” they said, as they highlighted, “To us, he is a respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him.”

Reuters said that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) had initially expressed support for the joint statement, but was not yet ready to sign, BOJ’s spokesperson told Reuters that the bank refrained from commenting on other central banks’ action.

The list is not considered final, however, and central banks could still add their names, as noted on the ECB’s official website.

The criminal investigation is linked to testimony Powell gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings, and follows a year of relentless attacks on the Fed chair by Trump, who has pushed the Fed to lower borrowing costs more aggressively, according to the BBC.

Several Republicans have spoken out against the justice department’s move against the Fed, as well as top bankers including, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan and Robin Vince of BNY, according to the Financial Times.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026