Deutsche Bank has always had a somewhat curious relationship with Donald Trump. When other banks wouldn’t touch him with a 2,000-foot pole, on account of all those pesky bankruptcies, the German lender was willing to loan the not very good businessman many billions of dollars. That relationship got extra complicated when Trump somehow became president, not only because Democrats started asking questions about the firm’s dealings with the real-estate developer and allegations it helped launder $10 billion on behalf of Russian customers, but also because Deutsche Bank reportedly feared a deeply awkward scenario in which the president of the United States defaulted on his loans. Do you place a lien on Trump Tower? Seize Mar-a-Lago? Or do nothing and look like you’re bribing the president?

These are the questions that keep Chairman Paul Achleitner up at night. Bloomberg reports that in the wake of the 2016 election, the bank’s management board was “so concerned” that the Trump Organization would default on $340 million worth of loans while Trump was in office that they seriously discussed extending the repayment dates until after the end of a potential second term. (The outstanding debt includes $125 million for the Trump National Doral Miami resort, due in 2023, and $170 million for the Trump International Hotel in Washington and a separate loan against a Chicago tower, both due in 2024.) While the concern apparently related to “the public relations disaster [Deutsche] would face if they went after the assets of a sitting president” and not to “any heightened concerns about the creditworthiness of Trump or his company,” one could forgive the lender if it was also a little bit of the latter; in 2008, in order to avoid paying back $40 million on a loan he personally guaranteed, Trump sued the bank, claiming it should pay him $3 billion for being one of the companies “responsible for the economic dysfunction we are currently facing,” i.e. the global financial crisis. The firm obviously countersued, calling the claim “classic Trump,” at which point the Donald moved his business from Deutsche’s investment banking division to its private wealth-management group, where, according to The New York Times, “executives were more willing to deal with him.”

Ultimately, Deutsche decided not to restructure the outstanding loans and, per Bloomberg, chose instead to simply not do any new business with the Trump Organization during the duration of Trump’s presidency, which was probably a good idea.

Deustche Bank declined Bloomberg’s request for comment. In a statement, Eric Trump, who is running the company’s day-to-day operations with his brother, got his knickers in an extreme twist, writing “This story is complete nonsense.” He added: “We are one of the most under-leveraged real estate companies in the country. Virtually all of our assets are owned free and clear, and the very few that do have mortgages are a small fraction relative to the value of the asset. These are traditional loans, no different than any other real-estate developer would carry as part of a comparable portfolio.”

You’ll have to excuse Eric for being a bit salty, as it’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Trump Boys. Last Thursday, the company announced that it was dropping plans for two new hotel chains announced two years ago, saying “We live in a climate where everything will be used against us, whether by the fake news or by Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone’s time, barraging us with nonsense letters.” He’s also had to deal with revelations that, oops, the Trump Organization hired dozens of undocumented workers despite Daddy Trump’s statements about immigrants, and then fired them when the media caught on. Life is hard.

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