Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements and François Villeroy de Galhau, chair of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, also signed the statement.
Over the weekend, Powell disclosed that the Fed had been served with grand jury subpoenas by the Department of Justice, raising the threat of a criminal indictment tied to his congressional testimony on the ongoing renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
In what amounted to a dramatic escalation in the standoff between the White House and the central bank, Powell used an unusually direct video message to argue that the legal action is politically motivated and part of a campaign of “intimidation,” designed to push the Fed into cutting interest rates more aggressively.
“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,” Powell said in language rare in its starkness for a serving Fed chair.
Trump, a longtime critic who has piled personal insults on Powell since his reelection both through ad hoc comments and through his social media feed, denied any role in the investigation. Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Trump said he was unaware of the probe but added that Powell is “certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings.”
The joint statement on Tuesday took a different view.