Ally Financial Inc., the auto lender majority-owned by U.S. taxpayers, received an oral commitment from bondholders of Residential Capital to support a bankruptcy filing for the mortgage unit that may come early next week, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The talks could create a pre-packaged bankruptcy for ResCap, which would shorten disputes and the court proceedings, and in turn make it easier for Ally to repay a U.S. bailout that topped $17 billion. A ResCap bankruptcy would rank among the largest for a U.S. Treasury Department-owned asset since General Motors Corp. won court protection in 2009. The U.S. holds a 74 percent stake in Detroit-based Ally, and President Barack Obama vowed in 2009 to recover “every last dime” of bailout money given to banks. Chief Executive Officer Michael Carpenter has said that a planned initial public offering to raise some of those funds will not happen until there is progress on resolving the fate of the mortgage business.
