Donald Trump introduced Monday he has picked funding banker and Republican mega-donor Warren Stephens to function ambassador to the UK.
“Warren has at all times dreamed of serving the USA full time,” wrote Trump in a social media submit. “I’m thrilled that he’ll now have that chance as the highest Diplomat, representing the united statesA. to certainly one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies.”
Stephens is chairman, president and CEO of Stephens Inc, a privately owned monetary companies agency headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, based on the agency’s web site.
The businessman has donated recurrently to conservative causes, though not at all times in assist of Trump. Stephens initially poured cash into efforts to oppose Trump’s 2016 run, however he later supported Trump’s 2020 presidential run. In 2023, Stephens donated in assist of Asa Hutchinson’s presidential run. In 2024, based on Federal Election Fee filings, he donated not less than $2m to Make America Nice Once more Inc, a pro-Trump tremendous PAC.
In his announcement, Trump referred to as Stephens’ firm a “fantastic monetary companies agency” and praised Stephens for “selflessly giving again to his neighborhood as a philanthropist”.
A 2017 report by the Guardian revealed that Stephens held a 40% stake in a payday mortgage firm, Integrity Advance, that the Shopper Finance Safety Bureau took motion towards in 2015 for allegedly using predatory lending practices. The revelation was produced by the Paradise Papers reporting challenge, which investigated multinational firms’ use of tax havens to shelter their cash.
In keeping with the 2015 Shopper Finance Safety Bureau report, Integrity Advance allegedly misled mortgage recipients by obscuring the whole price of the loans and requiring debtors to pay again loans by pre-authorized digital transfers.
Reuters contributed reporting
Supply hyperlink
