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Article

12 Jan 2021

Author:
Luke Harding & Kalyeena Makortoff, The Guardian

Deutsche Bank joins companies cutting ties with Donald Trump

Deutsche Bank became the latest large company to cut ties with Donald Trump, with the firm that has propped up the Trump Organization for two decades reportedly announcing it would no longer do business with the disgraced president... Deutsche Bank has been Trump’s most important lender. The Trump Organization, fronted by his two older sons, owes the bank about $340m in outstanding loans. After a series of bankruptcies in the 1990s, it was the only bank willing to give Trump money... Deutsche has resisted efforts by Democrats in the House and Senate to explain its relationship with Trump – and to clarify if Russian state banks or entities underwrote some of his debts.

... [T]he bloody events of last week and the looming threat of a second impeachment trial appear to have finally persuaded Deutsche’s managers to terminate its association with Trump. A Deutsche spokesperson refused to elaborate on Tuesday, telling the Guardian: “We decline to comment.”

... “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,” Christina Riley, the head of Deutsche’s US operations, wrote last week on LinkedIn.

Another of Trump’s key lenders, Signature Bank, said it was closing his two personal accounts, which held a combined $5.3m in deposits. The bank called on Trump to quit. “We witnessed the President of the United States encouraging the rioters and refraining from calling in the National Guard to protect the Congress in its performance of duty,” it said in a statement.

“At this point in time, to ensure the peaceful transition of power, 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."

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