Oct 31 (Reuters) – Ally Financial Inc, the U.S. auto lender
74 percent owned by the U.S. government, on Wednesday said it
has repaid $2.9 billion in debt issued under a
financial-crisis-era program designed to bolster confidence in
the banking system.
The former auto lending arm of General Motors Co
paid back $2.9 billion in debt guaranteed by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.
The debt, issued on Oct 30, 2009, came due on Tuesday. The
lender plans to repay the remaining $4.5 billion in debt it
issued under the program in December.
Other financial institutions such as Bank of America Corp
have been repaying debt issued under the program.
“The TLGP enabled Ally to access another source of liquidity
during a time when there were limited options for financial
institutions,” said Jeff Brown, Ally’s executive vice president
of finance and corporate planning.
Ally is trying to refocus its business on U.S. auto lending
and banking. Its Residential Capital mortgage unit filed for
bankruptcy in May, and it has been selling international
operations in a bid to speed up payment to U.S. taxpayers.
Ally, once known as GMAC, received $17 billion in bailouts
from the U.S. government during the financial crisis. Including
dividend payments, it has paid back $5.8 billion.
