Deutsche Bank Denied Trump Organization’s Loan Request During 2016 Campaign, ‘New York Times’ Reports

As Donald Trump was spending millions of dollars on both his presidential campaign and his real estate business in 2016, the would-be president’s Trump Organization reportedly applied for a loan with “longtime ally” Deutsche Bank, only for his request to be denied.

In a report published Saturday, the New York Times wrote that the loan was deemed too risky by Deutsche Bank’s top brass due to the “divisive” nature of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Sources familiar with the matter told the publication that the bank’s senior officials were concerned that they might have to choose whether to seize Trump’s assets or not in the event he would default on the loan after winning the election.

As further noted, two of the New York Times‘ sources said that the Trump Organization was seeking funding for a golf property in Turnberry, Scotland by borrowing against its Miami resort. This claim, however, was denied by Trump Organization spokeswoman Amanda Miller, who issued a statement calling the allegations “absolutely false.”

“We bought Trump Turnberry without any financing and put tens of millions of dollars of our own money into the renovation, which began in 2014. At no time was any money needed to finance the purchase or the refurbishment of Trump Turnberry.”

Per the New York Times, Miller’s statement did not specifically confirm or deny whether the Trump Organization had applied for a loan with Deutsche Bank. The publication added that Deutsche Bank spokesman Troy Gravitt chose not to comment on the matter.

Trump reportedly needed a loan in 2016, but even Deutsche Bank turned him down https://t.co/ddBWLLgMWm

— Vox (@voxdotcom) February 2, 2019

Commenting on the alleged loan request, the New York Times noted that it showed how Donald Trump was actively involved in his business endeavors while he was running for president in 2016, and also further underscored how he has long been linked to Deutsche Bank, despite his “tortured” relationship with the banking industry in general. As pointed out by the outlet, the financial institution had lent Trump and his companies more than $2.5 billion between 1998 — when he borrowed $125 million for renovations on one of his Wall Street properties — and 2015.

In addition to Trump’s ties with Deutsche, presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner has also been associated with the bank, as the White House advisor’s firm reportedly received a $285 million loan from Deutsche just one month before the 2016 election, per a previous report from the Inquisitr.

According to Vox, the new report also came on the heels of rumors that special counsel Robert Mueller could be diving deeper into Trump’s dealings with Deutsche, as his team reportedly requested financial records pertaining to the president’s transactions with the bank. Even with the White House denying these rumors, both Vox and the New York Times wrote that the purported loan request will likely attract scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers. These include House Intelligence Committee chairman and California Rep. Adam Schiff, who had previously been cited as saying he wants to look into Deutsche Bank’s alleged history of “laundering money for Russian nationals,” per the New York Times.