A lot of money owed…
A new report has suggested that Donald Trump’s companies are almost $1.8 billion in debt to 150 institutions raising fears of potential conflicts of interest for the incoming president’s administration.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the evidence suggests that Donald Trump will soon be responsible for regulating many institutions he owes large sums of money to.
As a result, a broad array of financial institutions are now in a potentially powerful position over the President-elect.
Were Trump’s businesses to default on their debts, the institutions would have the power to foreclose many of Trump’s high profile properties or seek millions in payment from Trump himself who personally guaranteed the loans.
Trump had previously declared $315 million in debts to 10 different lenders but this new study from the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of legal and property documents shows a much larger scale debt.
Trevor Potter, a former legal adviser to George H.W. Bush and John McCain, told the Journal: “The problem with any of this debt is if something goes wrong, and if there is a situation where the president is suddenly personally beholden or vulnerable to threats from the lenders.”
Mr. Trump filed a financial-disclosure form with the Federal Election Commission that listed 16 loans worth $315 million from 10 different companies, but these only accounted for companies that Trump controls.
When companies that are 30% owned by Trump are included, an additional, undeclared $1.5 billion of debt emerges.
One of the banks that Trump owes money to is Wells Fargo & Co., which is the trustee or administrator of $282 million of loans to Trump and his companies. It is also involved in $950 million of debt paid to a property which one of Trump’s companies partially owns.
Wells Fargo is currently under investigation in the US for fraudulent activity which include staff allegedly opening up more than two million accounts for customers without their knowledge.
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