Ally no longer offers or services home loans and the pipeline of pending mortgages stands at zero, according to a presentation released Tuesday by the Detroit-based auto financer. The company has paid a settlement reached last month with U.S. regulators tied to its residential lending, and that’s the last of any significant costs, Jeff Brown, senior executive vice president for finance, told investors on a conference call.
Mortgages are in Ally’s “rearview mirror,” CEO Michael Carpenter said on the call, ending an almost 30-year foray that led to more than $10 billion in losses and a $17 billion U.S. bailout. Under his predecessors, brands such as GMAC Mortgage and online lender Ditech propelled the firm into the top ranks of subprime lenders in 2006, just as the housing bubble began to pop.
“It turned out to be a debacle,” said Thomas Lawler, who spent 22 years at Fannie Mae and is now an independent consultant.
