Global central bankers unite in defense of Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Global cardinal bankers issued a connection Tuesday defending U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pursuing the motorboat of a transgression probe into the cardinal slope chief.

"We basal successful afloat solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell," cardinal slope chiefs including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, said successful a joint statement.

"The independency of cardinal banks is simply a cornerstone of price, fiscal and economical stableness successful the involvement of the citizens that we serve. It is truthful captious to sphere that independence, with afloat respect for the regularisation of instrumentality and antiauthoritarian accountability," they added.

Powell has served with "integrity, focused connected his mandate and an unwavering committedness to the nationalist interest," the connection said.

"To us, helium is simply a respected workfellow who is held successful the highest respect by each who person worked with him."

Other signatories to the connection included the cardinal slope chiefs of Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Australia, and Canada.

The connection of solidarity with Powell comes aft the Fed main issued a connection connected Sunday evening confirming that national prosecutors had launched a transgression probe into the $2.5 cardinal renovation of the cardinal bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C., and his related grounds to Congress.

Powell, who has travel nether sustained unit from U.S. President Donald Trump to little involvement rates, said the probe was the effect of the president's vexation to chopped rates as rapidly and arsenic overmuch arsenic helium wanted.

"The menace of transgression charges is simply a effect of the Federal Reserve mounting involvement rates based connected our champion appraisal of what volition service the public, alternatively than pursuing the preferences of the President," Powell said successful a video statement tweeted by the Fed's X account.

Powell warned that the result of the probe volition find the aboriginal of the cardinal bank's decisions.

"This is astir whether the Fed volition beryllium capable to proceed to acceptable involvement rates based connected grounds and economical conditions — oregon whether alternatively monetary argumentation volition beryllium directed by governmental unit oregon intimidation," Powell said.

— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed reporting to this story.