Is the age of central bank independence under threat?
13 November 2025, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Online / Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LE
Think tank: Chatham House
This event hosted by UK think tank Chatham House examines the challenges presented to central banking by the current turbulence in the global economy.
Over the past four decades, orthodox monetary policy has been defined by the pursuit of low and stable inflation, anchored by central bank independence and the use of interest rates as the primary lever. That framework is now being tested.
The global financial crisis, a sustained period of quantitative easing, the return of inflation in the 2020s, and the pressures of climate risk, geopolitical shocks and fiscal activism are raising fundamental questions: has the orthodox consensus reached its limits? The Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the Federal Reserve, including efforts to dismiss leading policymakers, represents the most significant attack on the traditional monetary policy model. Populist political parties are increasingly taking aim at central banks and the monetary policy orthodoxy that has underpinned policy making for four decades.
Join us for a timely discussion on the past, present and future of monetary orthodoxy, and the implications of its transformation for global economies.
This event will discuss key questions including:
- Will independent central banks be able retain their independence?
- How might central banks better respond to changes and turbulence in the global economic environment?
- Are unconventional policies now permanently part of the policy toolkit? And, what could these policies look like?
- And what do these changes mean for economic stability and the balance between markets and governments in shaping monetary outcomes?
Speakers
Event chaired by Creon Butler.
Creon Butler – Director, Global Economy and Finance Programme
Megan Greene – Associate Fellow, US and the Americas Programme and Global Economy and Finance Programme
David Lubin – Michael Klein Senior Research Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme
Chris Giles – Economics Editor, The Financial Times
