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 alongside other global central bank chiefs in support of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Trump administration threatened Powell with a criminal indictment after a probe into the renovation of the Fed's headquarters but Powell called it ​a "pretext" to win ‍presidential influence over interest rates.

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

The statement said Powell had acted with integrity and central bank independence was crucial for keeping prices and financial markets stable.

A RBNZ spokesperson said Breman had signed the statement because she believed strongly in the independence of central banks and that her signature indicated the support of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which is statutorily independent of the New Zealand government.

However, the decision to do so was criticised by Peters, who said in a post on X that "the RBNZ has no role, nor should it involve itself, in U.S. 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 declined to comment on Peters' post.

RBNZ CHALLENGES

Swedish economist Breman started as New Zealand's central bank governor on December 1, 2025, with her appointment following a challenging time for the bank.

Previous RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr suddenly resigned early in 2025 due to disagreements over proposed government cuts to the central bank's budget. This was then followed by the resignation of RBNZ Chair Neil Quigley over his handling of Orr's surprise departure and concerns around transparency. 

New Zealand, which is not a formal ally of the U.S. but is a close friend, has managed its relationship with the U.S. carefully in recent years and Peters has spoken about the need to respect the United States.

"Close friends do not need to be, and should not be, confrontational and rude with one another, as New Zealand sometimes was towards the United States in the mid-to-late 1980s. And we should never forget what binds and unites us, bonds stronger and more long-lasting than the controversies and headlines of the moment," Peters said in a speech last April.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Jamie Freed)