NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans using financial statements that a court has since deemed fraudulent, a retired bank official testified Wednesday at the former president’s New York civil fraud trial.

Trump’s statements of financial condition were key to his approval for a $125 million loan in 2011 for his Doral, Florida, golf resort and a $107 million loan in 2012 for his Chicago hotel and condo skyscraper, former Deutsche Bank risk management officer Nicholas Haigh testified.

They also helped Trump secure bigger loans and lower interest rates, said Haigh, who headed the risk group for the bank’s private wealth management unit from 2008 to 2018.

A judge last month ruled that Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, committed years of fraud by exaggerating the value of Trump’s assets and net worth on the financial statements he gave to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.

Trump’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, acknowledged in testimony Tuesday that information in the financial statements wasn’t always accurate.

Trump denies any wrongdoing, emphasizing disclaimers on the documents that he says alerted lenders to do their own homework. Trump has claimed that banks he did business with weren’t harmed, made lots of money in his deals and “to this day have no complaints.”

Haigh is testifying in a trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit against Trump, his company and top executives. It’s the first time a bank official has been in court testifying in the case about the impact Trump’s financial statements had on his ability to obtain loans.

Deutsche Bank’s rules required Trump to act as a guarantor for the Doral and Chicago loans in addition to putting up the Miami-area resort and Wabash Ave skyscraper as collateral, meaning he would’ve been obligated to repay the loans if his properties faltered.

Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management unit, which handled the loans, wouldn’t have approved them without a “strong financial guarantee” from Trump, Haigh said.

Haigh said he reviewed Trump’s financial statements before approving the loans and, at the time, had no reason to doubt their validity.

The documents portrayed Trump as a wealthy businessman, heavily invested in golf courses and other real estate with strong cash flow and little debt, Haigh said. Deutsche Bank representatives also met with Trump Organization executives to go over the information, he said.

“I assumed that the representations of the assets and liabilities were broadly accurate,” Haigh said of Trump’s financial statements.

Trump’s 2011 financial statement listed his net worth as $4.3 billion. Haigh said he used that figure to shape a loan condition requiring that Trump, as guarantor, maintain a minimum net worth of $2.5 billion, excluding any value derived from his celebrity.

“As the ultimate decider, I needed to be comfortable with the terms of the loan, including the covenants that protected the bank,” Haigh said. The $2.5 billion benchmark, he said, was set “to ensure the bank was protected in adverse market conditions.”

Trump, the Republican front-runner in next year’s election, attended the trial’s first three days last week, watching testimony, consulting with lawyers and griping about the case to TV cameras outside the courtroom. He’s expected back in court as a witness later in the trial.

In a pretrial ruling last month, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump, Weisselberg and other defendants committed years of fraud by exaggerating the value of Trump’s assets and net worth on his financial statements.

As punishment, Engoron ordered that a court-appointed receiver take control of some Trump companies, putting the future oversight of Trump Tower and other marquee properties in doubt. An appeals court on Friday blocked enforcement of that aspect of Engoron’s ruling, at least for now.

The civil trial concerns allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

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Provided through VA Insurance Service, the Instant Loan Approval process offers eligible Veterans the option to borrow the cash value of their VA-administered life insurance policy by streamlining the online loan request process and offering a quick automated decision.

Loan options are available for the following VA-administered programs: National Service Life Insurance, Veterans’ Special Life Insurance, Veterans’ Reopened Insurance and Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance.

“As the department modernizes efforts, it makes sense to include an instant loan approval feature in our approval process to improve the customer experience,” said VA Insurance Executive Director Dan Keenaghan. “When a Veteran with an eligible life insurance policy holding cash value applies and is approved for a loan online, the payment is deposited directly into their bank account within two to five business days, which is helpful in times of need.”

VA Insurance Service also helps Veterans with online application uploads and answers questions through its phone center, accessing benefits online faster and more secure than by postage mail.

This fiscal year, VA has seen increased adoption of the online loan tool with more than 41% of requests processed using the Instant Loan Approval feature.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Will mortgage rates go up? How about car loans? Credit cards?

How about those nearly invisible rates on bank CDs — any chance of getting a few dollars more?

With the Federal Reserve signaling Wednesday that it will begin raising its benchmark interest rate as soon as March — and probably a few additional times this year — consumers and businesses will eventually feel it.

The Fed’s thinking is that with America’s job market essentially back to normal and inflation surging well beyond the central bank’s annual 2% target, now is the time to raise its benchmark rate from near zero.

The Fed had slashed its key rate after the pandemic recession erupted two years ago. The idea was to support the economy by encouraging borrowing and spending. But now, by making loans gradually costlier, the Fed hopes to stem the surging price increases that have been squeezing consumers and businesses.

Here are some questions on what this could mean for consumers and businesses.

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I’M CONSIDERING BUYING A HOUSE. WILL MORTGAGE RATES GO STEADILY HIGHER?

Probably, but it’s hard to say. Mortgage rates don’t usually rise in tandem with the Fed’s rate increases. Sometimes they even move in the opposite direction. Long-term mortgages tend to track the rate on the 10-year Treasury, which, in turn, is influenced by a variety of factors. These include investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for U.S. Treasurys.

When inflation is expected to stay high, investors tend to sell Treasurys because the yields on those bonds tend to provide little to no return once you account for inflation. As that happens, the selling pressure on the bonds tends to force Treasurys to pay higher rates. Yields then rise in response. The result can be higher mortgage rates. But not always.

DOES THAT MEAN HOME-LOAN RATES WON’T RISE MUCH ANYTIME SOON?

Not necessarily. Inflation is far exceeding the Fed’s 2 percent target. Fewer investors are buying Treasurys as a safe haven. And with numerous Fed rate hikes expected, the rate on the 10-year note could rise over time — and so, by extension, would mortgage rates.

It’s just hard to say when.

On the other hand, even when Treasury yields are comparatively low relatively to inflation, as they are now, investors often still flock to them. That’s especially true at times of global turmoil. Nervous investors from around the world often pour money into Treasurys because they are regarded as ultra-safe. All that buying pressure tends to keep a lid on Treasury rates, which generally has the effect of keeping mortgage rates relatively low.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER KINDS OF LOANS?

For users of credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other variable-interest debt, rates would rise by roughly the same amount as the Fed hike. That’s because those rates are based in part on banks’ prime rate, which moves in tandem with the Fed.

Those who don’t qualify for such low-rate credit card offers might be stuck paying higher interest on their balances, because the rates on their cards would rise as the prime rate does.

The Fed’s rate hikes won’t necessarily raise auto loan rates. Car loans tend to be more sensitive to competition, which can slow the rate of increases.

WOULD I FINALLY EARN A BETTER-THAN-MEASLY RETURN ON CDS AND MONEY MARKET ACCOUNTS?

Probably, though it would take time.

Savings, certificates of deposit and money market accounts don’t typically track the Fed’s changes. Instead, banks tend to capitalize on a higher-rate environment to try to thicken their profits. They do so by imposing higher rates on borrowers, without necessarily offering any juicer rates to savers.

The exception: Banks with high-yield savings accounts. These accounts are known for aggressively competing for depositors. The only catch is that they typically require significant deposits.

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