A director at Deutsche Bank AG behind hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of loans to President Trump’s company announced her resignation.
Rosemary Vrablic, the banker for Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said she has “chosen to resign” from the bank effective Dec. 31 and that she is “looking forward” to retirement, according to the New York Times. She’s joined by longtime colleague Dominic Scalzi, who was also involved in securing the loans for Trump’s company.
“I’ve chosen to resign my position with the bank effective Dec. 31 and am looking forward to my retirement,” Vrablic said in a statement.
Vrablic and Scalzi began working for Deutsche Bank in 2006. Five years later, Vrablic convinced her bosses to approve the loans for Trump, who had been “mostly off limits to the mainstream banking world” given his record of defaulting on loans, the New York Times reported.
“Rosemary Vrablic and Dominic Scalzi have tendered their resignations to Deutsche Bank effective as of year-end, which was accepted by the bank,” Deutsche Bank’s Daniel Hunter told the Washington Examiner.
It’s unclear what prompted either resignation.
In August, Deutsche Bank announced it was starting an internal review of Vrablic regarding a 2013 real estate purchase she made. Vrablic purchased a property that belonged to a company part-owned by Kushner. Deutsche Bank said it was not aware of the transaction until contacted by the New York Times. Banks typically do not allow employees to conduct personal business with clients in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Earlier in 2020, Deutsche Bank was reportedly looking for ways to “cut ties” with Trump after the international bank received negative publicity for its connection to the outgoing president, which it referred to as “serious collateral damage.” Trump owes Deutsche Bank roughly $330 million in outstanding loans against properties owned by Trump and personally guaranteed by him, according to paperwork the president filed to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Those loans come due in 2023 and 2024. The bank had considered selling the loans to another bank or demanding repayment from Trump and foreclosing if he is unable to pay off the loans.
Trump’s relationship with the bank received increased scrutiny after he was elected president. Two Democratic-controlled House committees, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, subpoenaed Deutsche Bank and Capital One for Trump’s financial records in 2019. Trump sued the banks to thwart the subpoenas.
The New York attorney general’s office, led by Letitia James, opened an investigation into Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank in 2019 following testimony from former Trump lawyer and now-convicted felon Michael Cohen. A New York district attorney is also seeking Trump’s financial information from Deutsche Bank.
The Washington Examiner attempted to reach out to the Trump Organization for additional comment.
