Tired of negative publicity stemming from its relationship to the president, Deutsche Bank is reportedly looking for a way to sever ties with Donald Trump. The German bank currently has around 340 million dollars in loans outstanding to the Trump Organization. 

Deutsche Bank and Donald Trump: A decades-old relationship

According to a number of insiders, Deutsche Bank is looking for a way to end its business relationship with US President Donald Trump, Reuters reports. Three high-ranking executives told the news agency that the association had brought “serious collateral damage” to the bank, in the form of bad press and probes into its business affairs. 

Deutsche Bank and Donald Trump have a relationship that spans back decades, with the real estate mogul having received more than two billion dollars in loans since the late 1990s. The bank currently has more than 340 million dollars in loans to Trump’s family business, according to documents submitted to the Office of Government Ethics in July. The three loans are personally guaranteed by the president, who so far has only had to pay interest on them. 

Ties to president have attracted scrutiny

But the relationship - in the eyes of the bank, at least - has been souring for some time. Deutsche Bank has time and again been dragged into congressional and other investigations into the president’s finances and alleged ties to Russia. 

Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat member of the Senate banking committee, has previously called for an investigation into Deutsche Bank over its money laundering controls and relationship with the Trump family - a probe that she intends to pursue into the next administration. 

Already in 2016 Deutsche Bank set up a working group to review the situation, but now the approach of the US election appears to have rejuvenated attempts to sever ties. 

Deutsche Bank considers selling Trump loans

Over the past few months, a management committee that deals with occupational risks has discussed various options. One proposal would be to resell the loans granted to Trump in the secondary market - but this ran aground on the fact that it was unclear who would be willing to buy the loan. 

What happens next is closely tied to the outcome of the US election. If Trump loses, senior Deutsche Bank executives believe they will have more freedom to deal with the loans and end their relationship with Trump. If Trump wins a second term, the options would be fewer, with the most likely scenario that Deutsche Bank extends the loans until Trump is out of office. 

Both Deutsche Bank and the White House declined to comment. There was also no response from the Trump Organization, the umbrella group that is currently overseen by Donald Trump’s two sons.