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ECB’s Lagarde Joins Global Central Bankers in Statement Backing Fed Chair Powell

13 January 2026

ECB’s Lagarde Joins Global Central Bankers in Statement Backing Fed Chair Powell
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, and Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, at the ECB Forum on Central Banking 2022 in Sintra, Portugal, on June 29, 2022. Photo by Sérgio Garcia (ECB) under CC BY-ND-NC 2.0.

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde joined other leading central bankers on Tuesday in signing a joint declaration backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, following threats by the US government to pursue a criminal indictment against him.

“We stand in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell,” the statement said. “The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve.”

It stressed that safeguarding this independence was “critical” and must be upheld alongside full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.

Powell had carried out his duties with integrity and consistently focused on fulfilling his mandate with an “unwavering commitment” to the public interest, according to the statement.

“To us, he is a respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him,” the statement concluded.

Alongside Lagarde, the statement was signed by the governors of the Bank of England, Sveriges Riksbank, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, Bank of Korea, and Banco Central do Brasil, as well as the chairs of the boards of Danmarks Nationalbank and the Swiss National Bank. François Villeroy de Galhau also signed in his role as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, together with Pablo Hernández de Cos, the institution’s General Manager.