GMAC Gets Bank Status

The Federal Reserve approved GMAC Financial Services' request to become a bank. This will allow GMAC to receive as much as $6 billion from the TARP and possibly issue $17.5 billion of government-backed debt. The announcement came as the deadline neared for GMAC's $38 billion debt swap. Cerberus Capital Management, which acquired a 51% stake in GMAC with a $7.35 billion deal in 2006, will distribute its interest in the company to its investors, leaving it with less than a 14.9% voting stake and a 33% equity stake. General Motors(NYSE, GM) will reduce its stake from 49% to less than 10%. The future of its mortgage unit, Residential Capital, is still unclear.