NEW YORK – Shortly after word spread of Alvaro de Molina’s abrupt departure on Monday, GMAC Financial Services announced that its board of directors selected Michael Carpenter as his successor.

GMAC, which was in negotiations with the Treasury Department for a third round of tax-payer funding, also requested that the agency postpone its decision until Carpenter and the management of GMAC assessed the current situation and advised the board and Treasury on the appropriate amount and form for the funding.

"Mike Carpenter is a world-class CEO, and the board has great confidence that he is the right leader for GMAC at this pivotal moment,” said Franklin W. Hobbs, GMAC chairman. “GMAC will benefit from Mike's broad and deep experience in banking, capital markets, turnarounds and corporate strategy. In addition, as a GMAC board member, he has first-hand knowledge of GMAC and the challenges and opportunities the company faces in its drive to return to sustained profitability and to repay taxpayers."

Quoting unnamed sources, the Associated Press reported that de Molina, who served as head of the financial services company for less than two years, was asked to step down by the GMAC board. GMAC did not answer requests for comment, but the board expressed deep appreciation for Molina’s work in yesterday’s issued press release.

"Al helped steer GMAC through an extraordinarily challenging period. He was instrumental in the conversion of GMAC into a bank holding company, the recruitment of talented managers into GMAC, and the establishment of Ally Bank. On behalf of the entire board, I thank him for his contributions to GMAC and wish him well in his future endeavors," Hobbs said.

The press release also contained a statement from de Molina. "I came to GMAC thinking that it was a short-term assignment working through a liquidity crisis," said the former CEO and director. "That crisis lasted two years. With the help of government support and the incredible efforts of our team, we are now on stable footing, positioned for profitability in 2010 and beyond. It is a good time for me to move on to my next chapter. I wish the GMAC board and team great success."

Carpenter, 62, has served on the GMAC board since May 2009. His previous experience includes CEO positions at Citigroup's Global Corporate & Investment Bank, Salomon Smith Barney, Travelers Life & Annuity and Kidder Peabody. During his distinguished 35-year career, Carpenter has also held senior positions at GE Capital, General Electric and Boston Consulting Group.

Carpenter noted in the press release that the challenges facing GMAC are substantial, but he expressed confidence that the company and its leadership have the resolve, talent and vision to restore its fiscal health and build on its unique franchise.

"A renewed GMAC is crucial to business and public sector efforts to bolster the U.S. auto industry, and we have a special obligation to the public to do everything we can to ensure GMAC succeeds," said Carpenter, who resigned from the board of CIT Group in order to devote his full attention to his new role at GMAC.

His mission, he noted, includes operating GMAC "at the rigorous standards required of a bank holding company, resolving the difficult issues we face with the mortgage business, and repaying in full the funds the U.S. government has invested in GMAC."