Gmac

Ayear after the Big Three implored Congress to save their industry from collapse, the fortunes of U.S. automakers are looking up. Ford, which lobbied for the bailout but took no aid directly, recently reported its second consecutive quarterly profit. General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy with the U.S. government as its biggest stakeholder, announced even better sales in October than Ford. It's harder to find good news out of Chrysler, which has received $13.8 billion in federal aid. But at least its new leadership announced plans this month to break even by 2011 and pay taxpayers back by 2014.

The nation's five biggest mortgage lenders are facing a major legal challenge in Massachusetts to seek relief for homeowners foreclosed on during the housing crisis, a case that could have reverberations for consumers across the nation. In the first such lawsuit filed by a state, Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley claims that Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and GMAC Mortgage used fraudulent documentation in the foreclosure processes, took back homes without showing they owned the actual mortgages, and failed to uphold loan modification promises to borrowers in the state.

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.

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Jerry Brown, under fire for not doing enough to revive the state's ailing economy, named a jobs czar Wednesday, but economists say he will have little power to counter the forces of the national recession. Former Bank of America executive Michael E. Rossi will be an unpaid go-between for businesses, labor leaders and the administration, according to a news release from Brown's office. He will "streamline and invigorate the state's economic development infrastructure" and advise the governor on regulatory, legislative and executive actions to stimulate job creation, the announcement said.

The Federal Reserve today said that GMAC is the only major bank that will need additional bailout money after it was unable to raise needed capital on its own. The Fed led the effort to put the 19 largest U.S. bank holding companies through so-called stress tests this spring to determine if they could withstand worse-than-expected economic conditions. The tests determined that 10 of the banks, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., needed to raise a combined $75 billion by today.

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.

GMAC, the lender partly owned by General Motors Corp., is telling some GM dealers that it no longer will provide them with financing to buy vehicles because of its own reduced funding, according to letters sent to the retailers. Some dealers also are being told that they will have to start repaying such loans after vehicles have been on lots for at least 180 days, according to one of the three letters. A GMAC spokeswoman declined to confirm them. GMAC has posted $4.5 billion in losses in the last four quarters.

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.

GMAC, the auto and home lender that received a $6-billion government bailout, reported a first-quarter loss Tuesday of $675 million in part on surging loan defaults. The loss widened from $589 million a year earlier, the Detroit-based company said. The percentage of auto loans more than 30 days past due rose to 3.1% in the quarter from 2.4% in the same period a year earlier. "We're at the highest retail credit loss that the auto industry has seen in recorded time," Chief Financial Officer Robert Hull said.

General Motors Corp. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it used the proceeds of an $884-million Treasury Department loan to increase its equity stake in its financing arm to about 60%. GM had previously held a 49% stake in GMAC. As part of the federal bailout for GMAC approved late last year, the financing company received $5 billion from the government's $700-billion bank rescue package. In addition, Treasury also said it would lend GM as much as $1 billion so that the automaker could buy additional equity offered by GMAC as part of its effort to raise more capital.

TROY (9-3) VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (11-2) Kickoff: Today, 4 PST, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala., ESPN. About Troy: Trojans quarterback Levi Brown threw for 3,868 yards this season, a Sun Belt Conference record. About Central Michigan: Quarterback Dan LeFevour set the NCAA mark for career touchdowns this season with 147. Prediction: Central Michigan 35, Troy 30. -- Orlando Sentinel

Auto lender GMAC Financial Services said Tuesday that it expected to announce a combined fourth-quarter net loss of about $5 billion, hurt by its struggling mortgage division. Detroit-based GMAC said that a previously disclosed $3.8-billion pretax charge was the main driver of the anticipated loss and that it had taken steps to sell some of its mortgage assets after a third installment of federal aid. GMAC received $3.8 billion in taxpayer money last week and has received $16.3 billion in total.

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.

Auto and home lender GMAC Financial Services said Chief Executive Alvaro de Molina was stepping down. Michael A. Carpenter, a member of GMAC's board of directors, has been named his successor. De Molina's sudden resignation comes while the lender is in the midst of negotiating with the Treasury Department over additional taxpayer assistance. GMAC is instrumental to the operations of automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group, but its finances have been haunted by bad loans it made in the housing boom.

Ayear after the Big Three implored Congress to save their industry from collapse, the fortunes of U.S. automakers are looking up. Ford, which lobbied for the bailout but took no aid directly, recently reported its second consecutive quarterly profit. General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy with the U.S. government as its biggest stakeholder, announced even better sales in October than Ford. It's harder to find good news out of Chrysler, which has received $13.8 billion in federal aid. But at least its new leadership announced plans this month to break even by 2011 and pay taxpayers back by 2014.

GMAC, the consumer finance arm of General Motors Corp., will limit auto loans to customers with credit scores of at least 700, making it harder for some customers to buy a car or truck. GMAC also raised the rate it charges auto dealers for making loans that aren't part of special incentive programs, the Detroit-based company said. Most loans will be limited to 60 months, according to a letter sent to dealers.

The Federal Reserve today said that GMAC is the only major bank that will need additional bailout money after it was unable to raise needed capital on its own. The Fed led the effort to put the 19 largest U.S. bank holding companies through so-called stress tests this spring to determine if they could withstand worse-than-expected economic conditions. The tests determined that 10 of the banks, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., needed to raise a combined $75 billion by today.