Tag: Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank confirms they have tax returns relating to subpoenas for Trump’s family and companies. New York Times’ David Enrich reports Deutsche Banks is ‘sitting on a vast trove’ of records, telling the ‘full scale of the bank's 20-year relationship’…

(Repeats without change) * Deutsche Bank in merger talks with state-backed rival * German coalition partners divided on supporting deal * State could be called on for funds or guarantee - official By John O’Donnell and Michael Nienaber BERLIN, March 21 (Reuters) - A political rift has emerged in Berlin over whether Germany should put its financial muscle behind a merger of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, politicians and officials said, complicating a bid to create Europe’s third-largest bank and fund it. But a dispute is unfolding between the two political parties who govern Germany in coalition, a row that could reduce political momentum for a deal and derail any future agreement on whether or how Berlin should financially underpin a merged group. One senior German official said that Scholz, a Social Democrat, had “gone it alone” in pushing for the deal without first securing the backing of Christian Democrats (CDU) in the coalition. That official, who asked not to be named, said some Christian Democrats opposed Scholz’s drive because it could involve the state giving a guarantee on funding or contributing to a capital increase for a merged bank. Scholz was the first to publicly reveal the merger talks earlier this month but he has since sought to distance himself from the process, insisting it is up to the companies to decide. A spokesman said Scholz had “not voiced any position on the merger talks”, declining to comment on possible future government action. But his stance and the idea of merging the banks have prompted criticism. Through its stake in Commerzbank, the German government would become a top shareholder in a merged group, playing a central role in any fusion. Gains by the far-left and far-right in Germany have undermined its traditionally consensus-driven politics, with the SPD and CDU now trying to establish a clear distinction between each other. Merkel, who will have the final say in Berlin on whether the government should openly support a merger, has kept her cards close to the chest.

Good Tuesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • For nearly two decades, President Trump relied on Deutsche Bank to lend to him when others wouldn’t. The bank, eager to expand in the United States, lent him $2 billion over the years — and once he was elected president, employees were told not to utter his name. Here’s what The Times found in an investigation, and here are four takeaways from our reporting. But as House Democrats sit down to draft their vision of health care policy, lawmakers find themselves badly divided on an issue that helped deliver their majority. • Beto O’Rourke raised more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours after announcing his presidential campaign last week, outpacing his rivals for the Democratic nomination and making an emphatic statement about his grass-roots financial strength. • Democratic candidates for president are importing grass-roots activism into their campaign by bringing a new generation of staff members into the fold who are more diverse and issue-driven than in years past. • A long-running federal investigation into a White House counsel in the Obama administration is reaching a critical stage, presenting the Justice Department with a decision about whether to charge a prominent Democrat as part of a more aggressive crackdown on illegal foreign lobbying. to open investigations into the activities of a Chinese-American woman suspected of trying to sell access to Mr. Trump.

Rachel Maddow looks at Donald Trump's outsized panic at the possibility that his business dealings with Deutsche Bank were being investigated by the special counsel and notes that now Democrats are pursuing those avenue of inquiry without the vulnerability of…

Wang Zhao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — The Justice Department unveiled sweeping charges on Monday against the Chinese telecom firm Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, outlining a decade-long attempt by the company to steal trade secrets, obstruct a criminal investigation and evade economic sanctions on Iran. The pair of indictments, which were partly unsealed on Monday, come amid a broad and aggressive campaign by the United States to try to thwart China’s biggest telecom equipment maker. They also cite internal memos, obtained from Ms. Meng, that prosecutors said link her to an elaborate bank fraud that helped Huawei profit by evading Iran sanctions. Trump administration officials have insisted that Ms. Meng’s detention will not affect the trade talks, but the timing of the indictment coming so close to in-person discussions is likely to further strain relations between the two countries. The indictment now presents Canada with a politically charged decision: whether to extradite Ms. Meng to face the fraud charges, or make a legal or political determination to send her back to Beijing. No executives involved in the scheme were indicted, though six employees were fired. Mr. Whitaker fueled the speculation about an indictment of Mr. Ren when he told reporters on Monday that the criminal activity “goes all the way to the top of the company.” The Justice Department also accused Huawei of conspiring to steal trade secrets from a competitor, T-Mobile. The legal drama now shifts to Canada, where the government has warned that it will not extradite Ms. Meng if it appears that the request is being made for political reasons. The Trump administration is seeking significant changes to China’s trade practices, including what it says is a pattern of Beijing pressuring American companies to hand over valuable technology and outright theft of intellectual property. On Tuesday, American intelligence officials are expected to cite 5G investments by Chinese telecom companies, including Huawei, as a worldwide threat.