Deutsche Bank reportedly refused Trump a loan during the 2016 campaign after considering the possibility that they would have to seize assets of a president

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Deutsche Bank reportedly refused Trump a loan during the 2016 campaign after considering the possibility that they would have to seize assets of a president

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  • Deutsche Bank turned down a loan request made by President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, The New York Times reported.
  • Given Trump's campaign rhetoric, the German lender was worried that public knowledge of a new financing arrangement would hurt its reputation, the report said.
  • Two House of Representatives committees are investigating Deutsche Bank's longtime ties to Trump.

Deutsche Bank refused Donald Trump a loan during the 2016 campaign partly out of concern that he was too divisive a candidate, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The then-Republican candidate sought the loan for the Trump Organization to finance work on a golf property in Turnberry, Scotland, the report said.

The request was examined by the bank's top brass, including Christian Sewing, the former head of the wealth management unit who is now CEO. They concluded that Trump's campaign rhetoric made him a risky borrower, and public knowledge of the loan arrangement could hurt the bank's reputation. They also weighed the risks of the possibility that the bank would have to seize a president's assets in the event of a loan default, the Times reported.

A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal business hours.

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Deutsche Bank and Trump have a longtime financial relationship and had other loans outstanding when the campaign-season request was made. Trump previously tapped Deutsche's private-banking unit to finance his Chicago skyscraper.

The Times' report came barely a week after Deutsche Bank disclosed that the US House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees had sent the lender inquiries regarding its ties to Trump.

And that's not the only such inquiry into Deutsche Bank's business. The firm has been named at the center of a $150 billion money laundering scandal centered on Danske Bank's operations in Estonia. It's alleged that Deutsche Bank processed a large chunk of money for Danske Bank from Russia into international markets via Tallinn between 2007 and 2015. Deutsche's shares have tanked by more than 50% over the past year.

Head over to The New York Times for the full story.

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