Bank Indonesia joins global central banks in backing Fed’s Powell

[JAKARTA] Bank Indonesia (BI) joined a group of global central banks in throwing its support behind Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, becoming the first monetary authority in South-east Asia to publicly do so.

On Thursday (Jan 15), Perry Warjiyo, the governor of Indonesia’s central bank, was added to the list of signatories in an online statement of support. Bank Indonesia did not immediately respond to Bloomberg News when asked for a comment.

Central bank chiefs, including those at the European Central Bank and Bank of England earlier this week, expressed their support for Powell, after he said the Trump administration threatened the Fed with criminal charges. 

The public support for Powell has proved politically tricky for some central banks.

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters criticised the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Anna Breman, for signing onto the statement, saying the central bank should not involve itself in US domestic politics.

In Indonesia, the central bank has faced its own pressure around institutional independence.

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The nation’s anti-corruption agency raided the central bank in late 2024, as part of an investigation into a corporate social responsibility program.

It is a case that remains ongoing and has kept BI under close public and political watch. BLOOMBERG