ResCap Drags GMAC to $724 Million Q4 Loss

GMAC Financial Services reported a Q4 net loss of $724 million Tuesday morning, compared to earnings of $1.0 billion in the year-ago period, as troubled mortgage lender Residential Capital, LLC continued to prove itself a significant drag on the former GM financing unit. ResCap itself posted a $924 billion loss during the fourth quarter, pushing full-year losses for 2007 to $4.3 billion — more than enough to offset profits in GMAC’s auto and insurance business units. The mortgage unit lost $2.3 billion during the third quarter. GMAC said it had sold a number of on-balance-sheet residuals from prior ResCap securtizations in an effort to reduce future exposure to losses; the move actually led to a net benefit of $157 for the fourth quarter, and also means that future provisioning for loan losses will likely decrease from the $281 million recorded in Q4. Loan production fell to just $20.8 billion during the quarter, off 58 percent from year-ago volume; subprime originations fell to just $100 million, versus 6.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. ResCap has seen staff cut dramatically in response to the market downturn; 3,000 employees were let go in a restructuring effort announced in October, and GMAC noted Tuesday that total restructuring actions will total 35 percent of its workforce, or 5,000 employees. In spite of continuing mortgage industry woes, GMAC said it expects to be profitable in 2008, and is exploring all options for its ResCap business, including the possible sale of the business. For more information, visit http://www.gmacfs.com.