GMAC Seeks Thrift Charter

GMAC Mortgage Group, Horsham, Pa., has applied for a federal thrift charter to expand its commercial, residential, and subprime mortgage lending in the U.S. "We are enthusiastic about this filing because a Federal savings bank would enable us to help more people realize the dream of homeownership and would allow us to better service our customers with new products and services," GMAC Mortgage president Mike O'Brien said.The Office of Thrift Supervision has a backlog of thrift applications and it has slowed processing due to legislation (H.R. 10) that has been passed by the House and is now under consideration by the Senate that would stop commercial firms -- like General Motors, which owns GMAC -- from chartering new thrifts. GMAC Mortgage originated $5 billion in residential loans in 1997, including $2.3 billion in B&C product through its subprime correspondent shop, Residential Funding Corp., in Bloomington, Minn. GMAC's commercial mortgage shop is located in Horsham. So far, only one subprime lender, a subsidiary of the Travelers Group, has received OTS approval for a thrift charter. First Alliance Corp., Irvine, Calif., withdrew its application, and an application by Associates First Capital Corp., Dallas, has been suspended. GMAC Mortgage's website address is http://www.gmacmortgage.com.