Government selling last stake in Ally Financial

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is selling the last of its shares in Ally Financial Inc., the former financing arm of General Motors that was bailed out during the financial crisis. Detroit-based Ally said last Thursday that the Treasury Department is selling its remaining 54.9 million shares. That amounts to about an 11 percent stake in the company. At the close of trading last Thursday, that would be worth about $1.25 billion. Ally, formerly called GMAC Inc., received a $17.2 billion bailout that began in 2008. It's now a standalone auto financing company and bank. Ally said that the government has already received $18.3 billion from its investment in the company. Ally went public in April and Treasury sold a chunk of its stake then. Separately last Thursday, Ally said that it has received a subpoena from the Justice Department related to subprime auto loans. It said other financial institutions had said they received similar requests earlier this year. GM Financial, an affiliate of General Motors Co., acknowledged in August receiving a subpoena over subprime auto loans. GM Financial had said that the Justice Department was considering a civil lawsuit for potential violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, a federal law that was passed following the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. Subprime loans generally are made to borrowers with questionable credit repayment histories. Published: Mon, Dec 22, 2014