The fate of those loans is unclear now that Deutsche Bank has said it will do no more business with Trump and his private banker, Rosemary Vrablic, has departed the German lender.
Vrablic was key to Doral’s financing. When Trump sought to purchase the resort in 2012, Doral was bankrupt and in dire need of a makeover. His relationship with Deutsche Bank had soured after Trump defaulted on loans and even sued the lender, so he turned to Vrablic for help. She was invited to travel to Florida to look at Doral and asked her boss to approve a loan for Trump promptly upon her return to New York, according to Dark Towers, a book by David Enrich about Deutsche Bank.
Vrablic left Deutsche Bank in December 2020 after the firm’s internal investigation found that she engaged in “undisclosed activities” related to a real estate deal. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the Doral loans. Vrablic didn’t return a call requesting comment.
The fact that the loans are personally guaranteed means that if Trump is forced to sell Doral to repay Deutsche Bank, but it’s no longer worth $125 million, then the bank can seek to recover the remainder from him. He has options in his favor: Low interest rates and liquidity in the market may make it easy for him to turn to other lenders.
For many Doral visitors, the name on the door may just not matter.
Jeff Eaton, a 71-year-old Chicago-based dentist, recently returned to the resort for the first time since 2019. He’s been golfing at the club since long before Trump bought it.
“It isn’t political,” he said. “When you’re out there, it’s you and the club. I play with Democrats and I play with Republicans.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.