More Heads Roll in GMAC's Servicing Unit

GMAC Financial Services has forced out six managers in the servicing division of Residential Capital Corp. as part of a belt-tightening effort at the company. A GMAC official confirmed the layoffs to National Mortgage News but would not provide any further details. (For the full story including who was let go see the Monday paper edition of NMN.) Meanwhile, GMAC is quietly shopping around more than $2 billion in troubled loans to investment banking companies and hedge funds, according to officials familiar with the talks. "There's no offering circular yet," said one New York hedge fund executive "but there are plenty of conversations." A GMAC spokesman declined to comment about the troubled loan talks. The cutbacks at ResCap came a few days before GMAC CEO Michael Carpenter told a Congressional panel that the company is planning an initial public offering in the next two years. Elected officials pressed Mr. Carpenter on his plans for ResCap and once again he repeated that GMAC, which is 56% owned by the government, is exploring its strategic options. He noted that ResCap has been successfully walled off from the rest of the organization. "I look at ResCap as a problem to be solved, not an opportunity," he said. A spokeswoman added that GMAC wants to minimize risk at the company but wants to "support our role as the fifth largest servicer serving three million homeowners."