Bessent Calls Denmark 'Irrelevant', Takes Aim at Macron, Warns Europe (Full Press Conference)

Denmark’s investment in US Treasuries, like the country itself, is “irrelevant”, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells reporters at Davos.

On Tuesday the Danish pension fund AkademikerPension said it is planning to exit US Treasuries by the end of the month, amid concerns that the policies of President Donald Trump have created credit risks too big to ignore. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Deutsche BankChief Executive Officer Christian Sewing called to dismiss a report from one of the German lender’s analysts that had suggested European investors may dump US assets.

“This notion that Europeans would be selling US assets came from a single analyst at Deutsche Bank,” Bessent said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “The CEO of Deutsche Bank called to say that Deutsche Bank does not stand by that analyst report.”

A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank didn’t have an immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

US President Donald Trump’s trade threats toward European governments over Greenland raise the possibility the latter may trim their holdings of US assets, George Saravelos, Deutsche Bank’s global head of FX research, said in a note on Sunday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cautioned European nations against ramping up their military presence on Greenland and assailed France over calls to conduct a NATO exercise as European leaders brace for President Donald Trump’s arrival at Davos.

Bessent questioned the message European allies were sending following the recent decision by Denmark and seven other NATO countries to deploy a handful of officers to the island, which Trump has said he wants to make a part of the US.

“For those countries to activate their troops, I’m not sure what signal that’s supposed to send. It seems pretty quixotic to me,” Bessent told reporters on Wednesday.

--------
Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube
Weekdays 7am-6pm ET
WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF

Follow us on X:   / bloombergradio  

Subscribe to our Podcasts:

Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN
Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI
Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi
Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC
Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i

Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:
Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI
Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy

Visit our YouTube channels:
Bloomberg Podcasts:    / bloombergpodcasts  
Bloomberg Television:    / @markets  
Bloomberg Originals:    / bloomberg  
Quicktake:    / @bloombergquicktake