Mortgage

Ally declares dividend, makes dent in Treasury debt

Ally Financial made another dividend payment to its largest shareholder — the federal government.

The Treasury Department will receive $134 million as part of the quarterly payment, Ally said Monday. The Detroit-based bank made a similar payment in January to the Treasury, which owns 73.8% of company stock.

Ally, formerly known as GMAC, will pay out dividends on two other sets of preferred stock of roughly $45 million and $22 million, respectively.

The Treasury has invested $17.2 billion in Ally through its Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to a January report from the program’s inspector general.

The bank, American International Group (AIG) and General Motors (GM) are still considered exceptional recipients of Treasury assistance. The department said Friday it would again freeze compensation for key executives at the companies.

With this latest dividend, Ally repayment to the Treasury will total $5.5 billion since February 2009, according to the company. That includes about $2.7 billion in Ally debt securities sold by the government, as well as additional dividend and interest payments.

The Treasury hopes to recoup more TARP funds through an initial public offering of Ally stock, but those plans stalled as the company tries to resolve its troubled mortgage division, Residential Capital. Numerous reports have pegged Fortress Investment Group (FIG) as a potential buyer of ResCap assets.

Ally recorded a $201 million loss in 2011 after it had a $1.1 billion profit a year earlier. The bank also said Monday its Ally Securities division will soon stop brokering deals of mortgage-backed securities.

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@AScoggin

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