Deutsche Bank plans to cut ties with Trump after the election and could seize his assets if he can't pay back his debts, Reuters reports

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Deutsche Bank plans to cut ties with Trump after the election and could seize his assets if he can't pay back his debts, Reuters reports
President Donald Trump gestures at the end of his final Make America Great Again rally of the 2020 US Presidential campaign at Gerald R. Ford International Airport November 3, 2020, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
  • The German lender Deutsche Bank is seeking to dump about $340 million in debt owed by President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
  • The bank could seek to sell the loans after the election or seek repayment of the money, which starts becoming due in two years, bank officials told the news agency.
  • Trump's ties with Deutsche Bank have long been scrutinized. The lender has handed over records to Manhattan's district attorney as part of a criminal investigation into Trump's businesses.
  • Trump has long denied allegations of wrongdoing in his business dealings.
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The German lender Deutsche Bank is seeking to cut ties with President Donald Trump after the election, three senior officials at the bank told Reuters on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bank could seek to sell or demand repayment of about $340 million in outstanding loans to the Trump Organization, the report said.

Trump's ties with Deutsche Bank have long been scrutinized. Over the years the bank has become the biggest lender to the Trump Organization, the umbrella company for Trump's hotels, golf resorts, and other businesses.

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But the bank is now reportedly keen to shed its last connection to the president: three loans, totaling about $340 million, personally guaranteed by the president and taken against the value of his properties. The loans are said to start becoming due for repayment in two years.

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The three officials told Reuters that bank executives were not concerned about the president's capacity to repay the loans, partly because of the time left before they are due.

Given that the loans are personally guaranteed by Trump, if he is no longer in office and cannot repay them or refinance, Deutsche Bank could foreclose and seize his assets, two of the officials told Reuters.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the report. The White House referred Business Insider to the Trump Organization; Business Insider could not reach the Trump Organization via its regular channel. Trump Organization officials did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

At an NBC News town-hall event in October, Trump shrugged off questions about a New York Times report that he was up to $421 million in debt, arguing that it represented only a "tiny percentage" of his worth.

The Times was the first to report that Trump had personally guaranteed that debt, an assurance that lenders seek when they're not sure whether the borrower will be able to repay.

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Congressional investigators and prosecutors in New York have long sought information about Trump's ties with Deutsche Bank, which was one of the few companies to lend to Trump after his businesses ran into trouble in the 1990s.

Two House committees have subpoenaed the bank for information about its dealings with Trump, but the president has sued to block the subpoenas, arguing that their purpose is political and that there is no credible evidence of wrongdoing.

In August, The Times reported that the bank had complied with a subpoena from Manhattan's district attorney, Cyrus Vance, as part of a criminal investigation into Trump's businesses.

Trump has long denied allegations of wrongdoing in his financial affairs and business dealings.

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