Another report calling into question Jared Kushner's business ties is in the news. The New York Times reports that Kushner's family business received two big loans from bankers after they met with Kushner at the White House. The first, a $325 million loan to Kushner Companies and a partner to finance Brooklyn office buildings, came from Citigroup last spring, shortly after Kushner met with Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat. The second, a $184 million loan to refinance the mortgage of a Chicago skyscraper sold to Kushner Companies in 2007, came from the real estate lending arm of private equity firm Apollo in November, following multiple meetings between Kushner and Apollo founder Joshua Harris, who was advising the White House on infrastructure policy.
Spokespersons for Apollo and Citibank say the meetings were about separate policy issues and had nothing to do with the subsequent loans. And a spokesman for Kushner's lawyer adds that Kushner "has taken no part of any business, loans or projects with or for" Kushner Companies since resigning as CEO last January. The Times points out he still retains shares in the business. In what a rep for the real estate company calls "harassment solely for political reasons," New York's banking regulator has begun probing loans and other financial dealings between Kushner Companies and three banks, with a focus on protecting the banks in case of a default, reports CNN. (More Jared Kushner stories.)