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Deutsche Bank, Signature Cutting Ties With Trump After Riots
By Sophie Alexander,
Sonali Basak, and
Steven Arons
January 11, 2021, 8:15 PM CST Updated on January 12, 2021, 2:37 AM CST
- Deutsche Bank has decided not to do more business with Trump
- Signature Bank closes personal accounts, calls for resignation
Deutsche Bank AG and Signature Bank, two of Donald Trump’s favored lenders, are pulling away from the billionaire president in the wake of last week’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The German lender has decided not to conduct any further business with Trump and his company, said two people with knowledge of the matter, asking not to be identified because the deliberations were confidential. Trump owes the Frankfurt-based lender more than $300 million.
Signature Bank, the New York lender that’s long catered to his family, is closing two personal accounts in which Trump held about $5.3 million, a spokesperson for the firm said on Monday. It’s also calling for the president to step aside before his term officially ends on Jan. 20.
“We believe the appropriate action would be the resignation of the president of the United States, which is in the best interests of our nation and the American people,” the bank said in a separate statement on Monday.
The lenders are following social media outlets and other companies in suspending ties with the president after he encouraged attendees at a rally last week to march on the Capitol, where they stormed the building and interrupted the certification of the electoral college vote. At least five people died in the mayhem and its immediate aftermath.
“Yesterday was a dark day for America and our democracy,” Deutsche Bank Americas head Christiana Riley posted on LinkedIn a day after the riot. “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.”
Read more: Trump sparks a crisis for his empire just before return
Signature bank has served Trump and others in his orbit, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Michael Cohen. In 2011, the bank appointed Ivanka to its board, but she stepped down a couple of years later. The New York Times reported the cutting of ties earlier on Monday.
“We have never before commented on any political matter and hope to never do so again,” Signature said in its statement. The bank will not do business in the future with any members of Congress who voted to disregard the electoral college, the spokesperson said.
Deutsche Bank said last month that Trump’s longtime banker resigned. Rosemary Vrablic, who worked in the private banking division, helped manage Trump’s relationship with the bank as the German lender lent hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to Trump’s company over a number of years. That relationship subjected the lender to pressure from lawmakers and prosecutors for information during Trump’s presidency.
The Trump Organization currently still has three loans worth about $300 million outstanding with the bank. They come due in 2023 and 2024.
Deutsche Bank has faced scrutiny over its ties to Trump throughout his presidency. It was so concerned about its exposure after his election, it considered restructuring the loans but ultimately decided not to do new business with him during his presidency, Bloomberg has reported.
