The former vice-chair of the US Federal Reserve created a stir a few days ago when he opined publicly that president Donald Trump’s constant push for lower interest rates could “destroy” the central bank’s independence.

Stanley Fischer, the influential economist who served as number two at the US central bank between 2014 and 2017 after a stint as governor of the Bank of Israel, gave his definition of independence: “The law of the central bank is that the government is not allowed to give instructions to the central bank.”