By Telis Demos 

Citigroup Inc. said in a letter sent Tuesday 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.

"This transaction was done in the normal course of Citi's commercial real estate lending business, received the necessary credit and risk approvals without input from Mr. Corbat, and was unrelated to any discussions with Mr. Kushner," the bank wrote.

Mr. Corbat requested the meeting with Mr. Kushner with the purpose of discussing U.S. trade policy and the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, the bank said. Citigroup has a large subsidiary in Mexico.

"Nothing related to the [Brooklyn] loan or any other personal business with Mr. Kushner or the Kushner Companies was discussed at that meeting, " Citigroup said.

The bank also said that Mr. Kushner himself "played no role in the loan origination or negotiation process" with Citigroup.

Mr. Kushner owns passive interests representing a 6.5% stake in the Brooklyn property, part of Kushner Cos.'s overall 47.5% stake, Citigroup said in the letter. Citigroup also said it recently completed another mortgage deal with Kushner Cos. for a property in which Mr. Kushner owns a passive 2% stake via a trust.

A spokeswoman for Kushner Cos. declined to comment on the letter. A spokesman for Mr. Kushner declined to comment.

Erica Orden contributed to this article.

Write to Telis Demos at telis.demos@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2018 11:23 ET (15:23 GMT)

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