Citigroup Inc. said the $325 million loan it gave to real estate firm Kushner Cos. LLC in 2017 was "completely appropriate."
Several lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., requested for more information about the loan after reports came out that CEO Michael Corbat met with Jared Kushner — the president and CEO of Kushner Cos.— before the loan was approved, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In a letter to lawmakers, Citi said Corbat did not have any participation in the transaction and that the loan did not need his approval. The company also said Kushner Cos. has been a long-time client and that the bank started exploring the loan way back in 2016.
Citi also said Corbat's meeting with Kushner, who is also the son-in-law and a senior adviser of President Donald Trump, was about the U.S. trade policy and the North American Free Trade Agreement, particularly since the company has a large unit in Mexico, according to the report.
A spokeswoman for Kushner Cos. also disclosed that the company secured another $200 million loan from Citi for a property in Jersey City, N.J., called Trump Bay Street.