GM Eyes Sale of GMACCM

General Motors is considering a sale of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp., the No. 1 commercial mortgage lender and servicer in terms of lending and servicing volume.Jerry Dubrowski, a spokesman for General Motors, confirmed to MortgageWire that GMAC might sell "all or substantially all of its interests in the commercial mortgage business." No sale price has been set, and GMAC said it is not ready to comment on who the potential bidders might be. But the company has hired Morgan Stanley to advise it regarding the process. Mr. Dubrowski said GMAC is considering a sale because the "tremendous growth" in the commercial mortgage business in recent years has caused GMACCM to "increase its need for equity capital and funding support from GMAC." GMAC would plow back the proceeds of a sale to its other business lines, including its residential mortgage business. As of year-end 2002, GMACCM had lending volume of $6.82 billion and held $160.9 billion in mortgage servicing rights, according to the Quarterly Data Report, a MW affiliate. GMACCM is the lender on a $563 million commercial mortgage loan backed by the World Trade Center. The loan was securitized just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, and GMACCM remains the servicer on the bonds.