William Muir to Retire from GMAC Next Year

GMAC Financial Services announced today the head of its global automotive services business will retire next year, following a 27 years career with the company. GMAC has launched an external search for a replacement and, as soon as the right man for the job is found, Muir is free to go.

Separately, GMAC announced today it has reach an agreement to sell 10 percent of ResCap's Dec. 31, 2009 total assets and approximately 40 percent of total assets on a pro forma basis to Fortress Investment Group, in a move intended to help the company back on its feet.

All the assets to be sold in Europe are tied with ResCap and include entities in the United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands. ResCap has been, for the better part of 2009, the bad performer in GMAC's portfolio, leading to a $3.7 billion loan from the US Treasury in January 2010 and a $5 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2009. In all, GMAC received 16.3 billion in bailout funds.

“If it weren't for the mortgage business, I don't think GMAC would have needed federal support. ResCap dragged the company down. The first priority is to support the auto industry within the bounds of reasonable credit decisions,” Michael Carpenter, the company's CEO said whenhe was named to replace Alvaro de Molina in November 2009.

Last week, another GMAC asset, the Ally Bank, entered into a $7 billion secured revolving-credit facility with a syndicate of lenders to fund car leases and dealer purchases.