GMAC Gets $6 Billion From Treasury to Revive Lending

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury committed $6 billion to support GMAC LLC, the financing arm of General Motors Corp., widening the government’s effort to keep the largest U.S. automaker out of bankruptcy.

The Treasury will purchase a $5 billion stake in GMAC and lend $1 billion to GM so the automaker can contribute to the lender’s reorganization as a bank holding company, according to a statement issued yesterday. The loan is in addition to $13.4 billion the Treasury agreed earlier this month to lend to GM and Chrysler LLC.

The fresh capital will enable GMAC to expand lending to car buyers and help save GM. The automaker’s U.S. sales plunged 22 percent this year through November after GMAC ran short on cash and limited loans to people with only the best credit. The Treasury stepped in after Congress failed to pass an auto- industry bailout earlier this month.

“The relationship with GM is probably a key reason it’s being bailed out,” said Thomas Atteberry, who helps manage $3.5 billion in fixed-income assets at First Pacific Advisors in Los Angeles. “Philosophically, I’m not very happy about the fact that the government has to save an auto-finance company because management ran it into the ground.”

In a statement, GMAC said it “intends to act quickly to resume automotive lending to a broader spectrum of customers to support the availability of credit to consumers and businesses for the purchase of automobiles.” The lender financed about 35 percent of GM’s retail customers last year.

New Rescue Program

“This is part of our strategy to position GMAC for long-term stability,” Toni Simonetti, a spokeswoman for GMAC, said about yesterday’s Treasury announcement. “The reason we’re doing this is so we can provide credit to consumers; we’ll put these funds to use right away.” More...

GMAC mum on whether it cleared bailout hurdle

Kimberly S. Johnson / Associated Press

GRAND BLANC -- Even after a crucial deadline came and went, the financing arm of General Motors Corp. remained silent Saturday on whether it cleared a final hurdle to become a bank holding company and gain access to billions in federal bailout money.

Analysts have speculated that if GMAC Financial Services LLC doesn't obtain financial help it would have to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down, which would be a serious blow to parent GM's own chances for survival.

GMAC had received the Federal Reserve's approval to become a bank holding company earlier in the week, but the approval was contingent on the ailing auto and home loan provider completing a complicated debt-for-equity exchange by 11:59 p.m. EST Friday. ...More

GMAC seeks bank status for rescue funding

Report: Auto finance company wants access to $700 billion bailout

WASHINGTON - GMAC, the auto finance and mortgage company, is seeking to become a bank holding company in order to access the government’s $700 billion financial rescue plan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

GMAC spokesman Gina Proia said the finance company had no comment on the report.

Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that also controls Chrysler LLC, has been discussing the matter with the U.S. Federal Reserve for over a month, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed people familiar with the talks.

As a bank holding company, GMAC could receive equity injections from Treasury Department and sharply reduce its borrowing costs in part by gaining access to the Fed’s discount window.

Proia said earlier on Tuesday that GMAC LLC had been granted approval by the Fed to use a commercial paper funding facility created earlier by this month by the central bank.

Cerberus and General Motors Corp have been discussing a merger deal for Chrysler since September, according to people familiar with the talks.

The Wall Street Journal said that those talks were being structured so that both GM and Cerberus could benefit from the financial support being offered by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.

The newspaper said that while the mechanics of a bank registration would be complex for GMAC it might include a requirement that GM’s stake in GMAC be no more than 24.9 percent.

Cerberus owns 51 percent of GMAC. GM owns the remainder. In addition to a merger of GM and Chrysler’s struggling auto operations, the two sides have also discussed a transfer of some of GM’s stake in GMAC to Cerberus, people with knowledge of the talks have said.

The newspaper said that one idea being discussed would merge Chrysler Financial into the entity controlled by the bank holding company in order to create a financial services company that would offer services including auto loans, interest bearing accounts and credit cards.

GM and Chrysler have declined to comment since word of their merger talks broke earlier this month.

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