GM Finance Arm Transfers Assets

GMAC Financial Services, the lending arm of General Motors Corp., recently said it has transferred assets from a thrift bank belonging to the automaker to an industrial bank that GMAC will retain when it becomes controlled by a group of investors.

The move was one of the key steps left for GM in its effort to close the sale of a majority GMAC stake by Nov. 30. The $1.16 billion transfer represents a shifting of nearly all the assets of GM's thrift bank, known as GMAC Bank, to the industrial bank, known as GMAC Automotive Bank. It is a previously agreed upon procedure that would be necessary for GM to close the sale of 51 percent of GMAC to a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management. The transfer was outlined in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.