GMAC Sees U.S. Mortgage Improvement

GMAC Financial Services, New York, lost $589 million in the first quarter, but says the performance of its U.S. mortgage unit actually improved. The company's mortgage unit, ResCap, lost $859 million in the first quarter, down from a loss of $910 million in the fourth quarter. ResCap's prime, conforming loan production in the United States totaled $15.4 billion in the first quarter, up from $9.6 billion in the first quarter of last year. The company said weakness in its overseas business offset domestic improvement. ResCap has reduced its mortgage origination activity in the United Kingdom and suspended all new mortgage originations in continental Europe in response to "illiquidity in the global capital markets and weakening consumer credit in certain markets." The company can be found online at http://www.gmacfs.com.