General Motors Acceptance Corp

GMAC Financial Services will get a $3.8-billion boost in federal aid as the auto industry's key lender to consumers and related businesses struggles to regain its financial footing. The lifeline, the company's third helping of taxpayer funds in the last year, is aimed at keeping the Detroit lender on track to its goal of improved finances next year and an eventual profit. The infusion will raise the government's ownership stake to 56% from 35%. "These actions offer the best chance for GMAC to complete its overall restructuring plan and return to the private capital markets for its debt financing and capital needs in 2010," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

GMAC Inc., the home and auto lender, is discussing with the Obama administration an additional aid package of about $3 billion to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The size of the assistance remains under negotiation, the person said on condition of anonymity because the talks were private. A deal may be reached within days as Detroit-based GMAC incorporates losses from its home loan businesses, the person said. The objective is to restore the company to profit in the first three months of next year.

General Motors Corp. said the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. had assured it that the buyer of a majority stake in GM's financing unit, General Motors Acceptance Corp., wouldn't be held responsible for GM's pension plan. GM disclosed its agreement with the PBGC in a Securities and Exchange filing. GM also said a unit of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. had joined a Cerberus Capital Management-led consortium to take control of GMAC.

Dealer Wins $26 Million in Lawsuit: An Alabama jury awarded the damages to a black auto dealer who said General Motors Corp. caused his business to collapse by mistreating him. According to the verdict, Charles Bell of Tuskegee, Ala., is to receive $6 million as compensation for his losses and $20 million in punitive damages from GM. The jury decision is aimed at GM and its financing arm, General Motors Acceptance Corp.

GMAC to Cut 15% of Jobs in Mortgage Units: General Motors Acceptance Corp. confirmed that it plans to cut about 500 of the 3,300 jobs in its mortgage units as the industry shrinks in response to rising interest rates. The cuts will be spread among the 122 offices of the General Motors Corp. unit's mortgage business during the next several months, GMAC Mortgage Corp. said. The greatest effect will be at GMAC Mortgage headquarters in Philadelphia. GMAC Mortgage closed about $8.

It didn't take long for the government bailout of GMAC to filter down to the car lot. General Motors Corp., which has long relied on GMAC to make loans to many of its customers, said Tuesday that it was offering no-interest financing on some vehicles and below-market interest rates for several other models. The deals last through Monday.

In a move that could free up badly needed financing for car buyers, the federal government said Monday that it would provide $5 billion in assistance to automotive lender GMAC as part of the ongoing effort to prop up the nation's faltering auto industry. The Treasury Department said it also agreed to lend as much as $1 billion to General Motors Corp.

GMAC plans to combine 20 U.S. and Canadian offices into five regional centers and cut about 930 jobs in its auto finance business to trim expenses amid tightening credit markets and heavy losses last year. The job cuts will occur by the end of the year and represent about 15% of the workforce in the auto loan unit. The company was once the finance arm of General Motors Corp.

Finance company GMAC said it was exploring the sale of parts of its troubled mortgage-lending arm, Residential Capital, and the purchase of an international lending institution. GMAC, 49% owned by General Motors Corp, said it had expressed interest in buying a large non-U.S. mortgage-lending institution. Its goal would be to combine ResCap's local mortgage business with the acquired institution. GMAC did not disclose the name of the lender. ResCap this month posted a $2.

General Motors Corp. said the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. had assured it that the buyer of a majority stake in GM's financing unit, General Motors Acceptance Corp., wouldn't be held responsible for GM's pension plan. GM disclosed its agreement with the PBGC in a Securities and Exchange filing. GM also said a unit of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. had joined a Cerberus Capital Management-led consortium to take control of GMAC.

General Motors Corp. agreed Monday to sell a majority share of its credit arm for $14 billion, a defensive move that analysts said would fund employee buyouts and help the beleaguered automaker's balance sheet. Although GM would gain some much needed cash, it also would give up control of its only profitable division.

Troubled automaker General Motors Corp. may announce as soon as today a decision to sell a controlling stake in its financial services business for about $11 billion, sources familiar with the situation said Sunday. A consortium that includes hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management and the private equity unit of Citigroup is viewed as a front-runner for the stake in General Motors Acceptance Corp.

General Motors Corp. said Tuesday that it might be unable to sell a majority stake in its finance division. The warning came in an annual report that highlighted the myriad risks and financial woes confronting the world's largest automaker. GM has been counting on the sale of a 51% stake in General Motors Acceptance Corp. as a way to raise as much as $15 billion in badly needed cash for the struggling automaker. But GM warned anew Tuesday that a deal might not happen.