3/21/2018

BUSINESS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST/ETHICS/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “Citigroup Inc. said in a letter sent Tuesday [3-20-18] to lawmakers that a loan made to Kushner Cos. shortly after the bank’s chief executive met with Jared Kushner last year was ‘completely appropriate.’
On March 3, 2017, Citi CEO Michael Corbat met with Mr. Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser to the president. On March 31 of that year, Kushner Cos., which is controlled by members of Mr. Kushner’s family, and two partner firms closed on a $325 million mortgage for a Brooklyn property with Citigroup, according to the bank.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and other lawmakers requested more information about the meeting from the bank after it was reported on by The New York Times last month.
Responding to that request, Citigroup’s letter said ‘the Kushner family has been a client of Citi for decades.’ It added the bank started exploring the March loan in late 2016 before Mr. Corbat and Mr. Kushner met.
Mr. Corbat ‘was unaware of the transaction’ until the article was published, and the loan didn’t require his approval, the bank said. The letter was signed by Citigroup general counsel Rohan Weerasinghe… A spokeswoman for Kushner Cos. declined to comment on the letter. A spokesman for Mr. Kushner declined to comment.”

-Telis Demos, “Citi Says Kushner Cos. Loan Was ‘Completely Appropriate’,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 21, 2018 11:08am