Deutsche Bank reportedly planned to extend the dates of $340 million in loans to Trump Organization to avoid a potential nightmare of chasing a sitting president for cash

• Deutsche Bank considered restructuring $340 million of loans to the Trump Organization over fears it could default while President Trump was still in office, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
• According to the report, they considered extending loans due to be paid in 2023 and 2024, a timeframe which would overlap with Trump's presidency if he wins a second term.
• Bloomberg said the bank's executive board was "leery of the public relations disaster they would face if they went after the assets of a sitting president."
• The Trump Organization denied the reports. President Trump's son, Eric, described the story as "complete nonsense."
• Deutsche Bank declined to comment to Business Insider.

Deutsche Bank, the biggest bank in Germany, reportedly considered rewriting the terms of a $340 million package of loans to the Trump Organization, fearing the nightmare scenario of having to pursue a sitting US President for cash were his company to default on its obligations.

According to a story published by Bloomberg Wednesday, the bank discussed extending repayment dates on the loans until 2025, by which time President Donald Trump would be out of office even if he won a second term in 2020. Bloomberg said its sources for the story were people familiar with the internal discussions.

After the story published, The Trump Organization strongly denied that any such restructuring was on the cards. Eric Trump, who is managing Trump's business affairs while he is in office, called the story "complete nonsense."

According to Bloomberg, the move was discussed to ensure that the loans were not defaulted on while Trump was in the White House. The bank's executive board, Bloomberg reports, was "leery of the public relations disaster they would face if they went after the assets of a sitting president."

Bloomberg said that ultimately, Deutsche Bank decided not to restructure the loans, but did decide to do no further new business with The Trump Organization while Trump is president.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment for Bloomberg's story, and did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.

In an email to Bloomberg, Eric Trump, the president's son and an executive vice president at the Trump Organization denied the claims made in the story. "This story is complete nonsense," he wrote.

"We are one of the most under-leveraged real estate companies in the country. Virtually all of our assets are owned free and clear, and the very few that do have mortgages are a small fraction relative to the value of the asset.

"These are traditional loans, no different than any other real estate developer would carry as part of a comparable portfolio."

Deutsche Bank has a long, complicated history with President Trump and his business ventures. For example, earlier in February it was reported by the New York Times that during the 2016 election, Deutsche Bank refused Trump an expansion on a loan to finance work on his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the bank also tried to jettison a $600 million loan it made in 2016 to VTB Group, a Russian state-owned bank, amid questions over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election that made Trump president.

Deutsche Bank's shares have fallen close to 50% over the last twelve months- spurred by two raids on the bank by regulators.

You can read Bloomberg's full story here.