Trump's aid cuts are fuelling terrorism, warns bank chief
Bill Winters, the chief executive of Standard Chartered, said Mr Trump's decision to close the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had helped jihadist militant groups like Boko Haram 'regain its footing' in Nigeria.
Mr Trump's efforts to cut public spending in the US have seen him close USAID and slash funding for international humanitarian programmes by $9bn (£6.8bn).
This has led to Boko Haram gaining ground in places where people were 'seeking refuge in UN backed camps,' Mr Winters said.
'Is this a good thing for the US and the UK? Absolutely not. And at the humanitarian level – it's horrific.' he said.
'Some chunk of the aid budgets that have been cut were there to promote economic growth and provide the kind of stability that allows economies to prosper, and on the margin that's a little bit more challenging now.'
Standard Chartered is one of Britain's largest banks but has no domestic presence in the UK, instead focusing its business on Asia and Africa. It is currently Africa's largest bank, following a recent period of fast-paced growth in countries including Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.
As a key banker to many institutions and charities, including the UN, Mr Winters said the aid cuts had hit some of the lender's business but that the impact was 'on the margins'.
The comments come after Trust Mlambo, head of the UN's World Food Programme, said on Thursday that Trump's aid cuts could act as a boon to Boko Haram's recruitment efforts, making it 'much easier for militants to lure youths to join them'.
USAID has been a feature of international aid since the 1960s, with the agency employing 10,000 people with the majority deployed overseas. Mr Trump decided to shut the organisation when he took office, saying that it was a waste of taxpayer dollar.
Mr Winters also criticised companies that have turned their backs on environmental pledges since Trump took power in January this year.
He said: 'I'll leave you to reach your own conclusions about people that said a lot of stuff that was fashionable to say, who are either saying nothing or the opposite now. Shame on them.'
The banking chief added that: 'Most of our clients ... haven't backed away at all.'
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