Chrysler Group LLC is getting close to striking a deal with Spanish lender Banco Santander SA to establish an in-house financing arm through a joint venture, to be called Chrysler Capital, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The new lending unit will provide financing for consumers and dealers, replacing Ally Financial Inc., which is now Chrysler's preferred lender. The deal will be similar to an agreement that Italy's Fiat SpA, the majority owner of Chrysler, has in Europe with the French bank Crédit Agricole SA. Since exiting bankruptcy protection in 2009, Chrysler has relied on Ally to provide retail loans and to finance leases and credit for dealers to stock new-car inventory, a service known as floor-plan financing. As part of its 2009 restructuring, it gave up its struggling finance unit, Chrysler Financial.
