New York banking regulator seeks Kushner Cos' loan details

Maria Vullo, Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), sent letters last week to Deutsche Bank, Signature Bank and New York Community Bank asking for details on their financial arrangements as well as loans made to or sought by Kushner Companies, the source said.

The lenders were given until March 5 to respond.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has refused to comment on the matter, as has Deutsche Bank.

But Kushner Companies said the inquiries were politically motivated and amounted to harassment.

"We have not received a copy of any letter from the New York State Department of Financial Services," a spokesman said.

"Our company is a multi-billion enterprise that is extremely financially strong. Prior to our CEO voluntarily resigning to serve our country, we never had any type of inquiries.

"These type of inquiries appear to be harassment solely for political reasons."

Also, The New York Times reported Kushner Companies received major loans from Apollo Global Management, one of the world's largest private equity firms, and Citigroup, shortly after Kushner held White House meetings with representatives from the two companies.

The paper quoted Don Fox, the former acting director of the Office of Government Ethics during the Obama administration, as saying the loans raised questions about the appearance of conflicts of interest.

Kusher met Joshua Harris, a founder of Apollo, multiple times over the course of 2017 and even discussed a potential White House position which never materialised, the paper said.

In November 2017, the firm loaned Kushner Companies USD 184 million -- triple the size of its average property loan.

He also met Citigroup's chief executive in the spring of 2017, Michael L Corbat, shortly before Kushner Companies received a USD 325 million loan from the firm, the Times reported.