Trump’s Civil Fraud Trial Unravels Backstory of up to $125 Million Loan From Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank’s former risk manager testified on Wednesday morning that he believed Donald Trump’s claims about his net worth were “broadly accurate” when he signed off on an up to $125 million loan to the then-real estate mogul in 2011.

Nicholas Haigh, who headed the German lender’s risk management division until 2018, said that he let Trump use one of his prized golf courses as collateral on the loan because of the former president’s claims about his personal wealth. 

“Deutsche Bank would not make loans just on collateral,” Haigh testified at Trump’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday, adding that extending the loan required confidence that it was guaranteed by a financially strong person.