Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank cut future ties with Trump, citing Capitol riots
In the wake of the deadly riots on Capitol Hill last week, Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank have said they are cutting future ties with President Donald Trump.
That could leave the president on the hook for millions of dollars when several large loans he has personally guaranteed come due in the next two years. If Trump were unable to pay back the full amount, the bank could seize assets he used to secure the loan — which could include his golf courses, hotels, or other properties.
Deutsche Bank, where the president has two personally guaranteed mortgages for a total of $340 million, is refraining from further business with Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.The loans come due in 2023 and 2024.
A company spokesman declined to comment, but the company’s head of U.S. operations, Christiana Riley, wrote on LinkedIn last week that the riots were “a dark day for America and our democracy.”
“Violence has no place in our society and the scenes that we witnessed are a shame on the whole nation,” she posted. “We are proud of our Constitution and stand by those who seek to uphold it to ensure that the will of the people is upheld and a peaceful transition of power takes place.”
The German bank has weathered a rash of negative publicity after a series of investigations connected to Trump’s finances, and was allegedly looking for a way to conclude its relationship with the president.
In December, two of Trump’s personal bankers at Deutsche Bank, Rosemary Vrablic and Dominic Scalzi, responsible for managing hundreds of millions extended to him over the years, resigned. The reasons for the resignations were not clear.
Signature Bank said it was closing two personal accounts in which the president held about $5 million.
“Signature Bank began the process to close President Trump’s personal accounts,” company spokesperson Susan Turkell said in a statement. “Signature Bank pledges it will not do business in the future with any members of Congress who voted to disregard the Electoral College.”
The bank also posted a statement on its website calling for Trump to resign.
“We have never before commented on any political matter and hope to never do so again,” the statement read. “To witness a rioter sitting in the presiding chair of the U.S. Senate and our elected representatives being told to seek cover under their seats is appalling and an insult to the Republic.”
Previously, the bank had been a go-to for Trump and his extended family and network of colleagues. It helped finance a golf course in Florida, lent to Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to invest in a Manhattan apartment building, lent to Trump’s son-in-law Jared and Jared’s father, Charles. Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka, at one point sat on its board while it was lending to her father. In 2013, she resigned, citing her “highly demanding schedule,” American Banker reported.
The news of the banks’ moves were first reported by the New York Times.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
As is typical with developers, Trump has several large, interest-only loans taken out on his properties that he periodically refinances. But the list of lenders willing to do business with Trump and carry over the loan is dwindling.
Ladder Capital, a small real estate investment trust that specializes in riskier debt that many other banks avoid, has issued Trump millions of dollars in loans for four of his New York properties.
Financial records filed with the New York Department of Finance show four loans to Trump by Ladder Capital for an estimated $282 million: $160 million for 40 Wall Street, $100 million for Trump Tower, $15 million for Trump Plaza, and $7 million for Trump International Hotel & Tower.
The loans were uncovered and first reported on by Wendy Siegelman, an independent reporter who has written for the Guardian and Buzzfeed.
The company did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
