Much has been made in the US of President-elect Donald Trump’s rumoured ties to Russia, says Jan
Dams. But what about his ties to Germany? Our biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, is invested in Trump
up to its ears and has every reason to cheer his election. Many banks refused to lend to the real estate
tycoon, because of his multiple business failures and bankruptcies, but Deutsche Bank stayed loyal:
since 1998 it has lent him some $2.5bn, fully $364m of which has gone into Miami’s Doral Golf
Club and Trump hotels in Chicago and Washington. All those loans are due by 2024: but here’s “the
twist”. They can be renegotiated. And that’s where a Trump-led Justice Department comes in. Under
Obama, the department levied a $14bn fine against Deutsche Bank for “shady real estate dealings”,
including a repackaging of sub-prime loans that helped precipitate the 2008 financial crash. The bank
was set to negotiate a settlement, but now it has every incentive to wait and see if it can get a sweeter
deal out of President Trump. In short, as US financial writer David Dayen points out, Deutsche Bank
has leverage over the incoming US president. Will Trump put his own interests ahead of his nation’s?
