Gregory Garrabarnts, the CEO and president of Axos Bank, stands outside of his office in San Diego, California on July 19.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
The CEO of Axos Financial, which replaced Deutsche Bank as Donald Trump’s lender of choice after the former president left the White House, offloaded $10.7 million worth of stock in his own firm last week, according to securities filings.
Axos’ Gregory Garrabrants ditched 236,000 shares at prices ranging from $45.15 to $45.60 between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4. Axos stock closed at $43.72 on Thursday.
Garrabrants did not keep all the money. He previously had pledged about a quarter million shares as security in a margin loan account, a move that got sign-off from the bank’s chief financial officer. Last week’s sales helped him repay the loans. A spokesperson for the bank did not respond to questions about why Garrabrants chose to sell shares to repay the loans instead of using other assets to eliminate his debt.
The sales erased 13% of Garrabrants’ shareholding in the company. But they should not have any impact on his control, given that he already had a small stake in the company, an estimated 3%. His interest is now down to an estimated 2.6%. The largest individual shareholder in Axos is billionaire Don Hankey, the subprime auto lender, who holds 6% of the company.
Donald Trump refinanced Trump Tower with a $100 million loan from Axos Bank in February 2022, according to documents filed with New York City’s Department of Finance. Trump’s previous mortgage on the property, a $100 million loan he secured with the help of real estate investment trust Ladder Capital, was scheduled to come due that September. Trump’s flagship property is worth an estimated $161 million.
The former president borrowed another $125 million from Axos Bank to refinance Trump National Doral, his Miami golf resort in 2022, just before his previous Deutsche Bank loan came due. Doral struggled during the pandemic, knocking its value down to an estimated $167 million, but it has recently come roaring back.
Based in San Diego, Axos Bank was founded in 2000 as Bank of Internet USA. Garrabrants has contributed $50,000 to Republican campaigns, including $9,600 in support of Trump, since 2012, according to records with the Federal Election Commission. Garrabrants has not made any political donations to federal candidates since his bank became one of Trump’s creditors.
Axos Bank president and CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold $10.7 million worth of shares in the company last week, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission/
Securities and Exchange Commission/Gregory Garrabrants