The Democratic National Committee (DNC) still owes $15 million to the union-owned Amalgamated Bank of New York, according to its February campaign finance report.
The politically active Service Employees International Union (SEIU) owns the majority of Amalgamated Bank, which became the primary bank of the DNC in August 2012 when the first loan was given.
The DNC took out two loans from the bank; an $8 million loan in August and then an additional $7 million loan the following month.
The DNC’s special relationship with the SEIU goes beyond the loans. The union is also one of the largest financial backers of the Democratic Party.
The SEIU has given at least $200 million to Democratic candidates and committees since 1990. The SEIU spent over $30 million on elections in the 2012 election alone, spending about $16 million to attack Republican candidates and about $18 million to express advocacy for Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
According to the campaign finance report, the DNC currently owes $20,776,025 in debts and obligations, and only has $4,669,216 in cash on hand. This gap is large, but it is slightly better than January when the committee’s debts were more than five times greater than the cash it had.