S&P Drops GMAC Ratings to Junk Status

The credit ratings of home loan and auto lender GMAC have been lowered to "junk/speculative grade" status by Standard & Poor's due to financial woes at GMAC's automotive corporate parent.S&P lowered GMAC's long-term corporate credit rating, along with GM's, to BB -- effectively putting it in the "junk" or speculative-grade category. Before the downgrade, which reflected S&P's conclusion "that management's strategies may be ineffective in addressing GM's competitive disadvantages," GMAC's long-term corporate credit carried the lowest possible investment-grade rating of BBB-minus, according to S&P. The rating outlook at deadline time was negative. GM had not responded to a request for comment by MortgageWire's deadline on May 6.