Deutsche Bank loaned more than $2 billion to Donald Trump before he became U.S. president — despite multiple red flags surrounding Trump, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The Times interviewed more than 20 former and current executives and board members at Deutsche Bank for the report, which outlined how Trump managed to secure financing from the German bank for nearly two decades despite his bankruptcies and being considered a risky client by other lenders.
The Times report comes after Germany’s two largest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, confirmed on Sunday that they were in talks about a merger. German-traded shares of both banks jumped higher on Monday.
According to the newspaper, in some instances, Trump exaggerated his wealth and promised to reward bankers with a weekend at Mar-a-Lago — his private club in Palm Beach, Florida — in order to get loans.
Over the years, Trump used loans provided by Deutsche Bank to build skyscrapers and other high-end properties, the Times reported. For the German bank, its relationship with Trump was key in building its investment-banking business, the report said.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the Times report. The Trump Organization and the White House did not immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank has come under scrutiny in the U.S. The New York attorney general’s office and the Democratic-controlled Intelligence Committee and Financial Services Committee in Congress have been looking into the president’s financial ties with the German bank.
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