New Zealand central bank governor faces backlash for Fed solidarity

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Wednesday publicly rebuked the country's new central bank governor for signing a statement in support of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

• Top central bankers in Europe, England, Canada, Australia and elsewhere signed a statement "in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H. Powell." New Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Anna Breman also signed the statement.

• Peters said in a post on X that "the RBNZ has no role, nor should it involve itself, in US domestic politics. We remind the Governor to stay in her New Zealand lane and stick to domestic monetary policy."

• Peters' post said that if advice on signing on to the statement had been sought from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she would have been told to stick to domestic monetary policy.

• An RBNZ spokesperson had no comment to make on the social media post. Earlier in the day, a spokesperson said Breman had signed the statement because she believed strongly in the independence of central banks.

• Swedish economist Breman started as New Zealand's central bank governor on December 1, 2025.