GM pays off its bailout loans

GM pays off its bailout loans

money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors has made a final payment of $5.8 billion to the U.S. and Canadian governments, paying off the last of its $6.7 billion in loans, the company said Wednesday.

"I am very pleased to announce that, as of today, General Motors has repaid, in full and with interest, the loans made last July by the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada," said GM chief executive Ed Whitacre, speaking at a plant in Fairfax, Kan., where GM builds Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse sedans.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Alright, so I have to give credit where credit is due. I was against the bailout from the beginning, for both banks and the private auto industry.

However, that being said, GM actually did what they were supposed to do and made good on it's promise to repay those loans, with interest.

And it took them less than a year to do so.

I'm kind of impressed by this at the moment.

Thoughts ATS?

~Keeper

money.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I remain cautious.... Didn't the gov't buy into GM as part owner?...

I would want to see were the money came from...

Because Sales or even the restructuring of GM through Bankruptcy Chapter 11 wouldn't have free'd enough money to pay back these loans.

*Personal Opinion - We paid back that loan with interest, find the money trail*

Fox

reply to post by FoxStriker


They actually received about 50 Billion in federal aid, and your right the rest the government bought stock in the company.

Which if needed, we could sell to regain some of the money.

~Keeper

There's a little bit of deception going on here as usual. GM and Chrysler sucked up something like $80 Billion of taxpayer money in their failures if I remember correctly. I'm going to look into this.

On June 1, 2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings from which it emerged on July 10, 2009 in a reorganization in which a new entity acquired the most valuable assets. GM is temporarily majority owned by the United States Treasury and to a smaller extent the Canadian and Ontario governments,[clarification needed][2][7][8] with the US government investing a total of US$57.6 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.[9]

Source

Apparently this was just the payback of a Treasury loan, Treasury still holds a big share of the company for funding the bankruptcy.

[edit on 4/21/2010 by mythatsabigprobe]

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Well that HAS surprised me.

Good for GM.

At least there's one paying the public back (not the government, but you, the public)...who's next i wonder?

So it's General Motors again, and not Government Motors? This is good news!

A bit of advice to our government:

Next time this happens, and there will be a next time, let them FAIL! Bailing them out did nothing but discourage the innovation of new technologies by upstart entrepreneurs; as it simply shows that, no matter what, innovators can never have the opportunity to "put their foot on the throats" of big auto and big oil.

To GM: you folks had better start producing quality, efficient, affordable vehicles! All the while maintaining fair wages to your employs; as now, you have to answer to more than your share holders (at least I hope so).

[edit on 21-4-2010 by Aggie Man]

Hersay is that they cut over 16,500 workers to due this. if this is true wonder where everyone is going to go to work now, but owe ya recovery is just around the corner

Originally posted by Aggie Man
So it's General Motors again, and not Government Motors? This is good news!

A bit of advice to our government:

Next time this happens, and there will be a next time, let them FAIL! Bailing them out did nothing but discourage the innovation of new technologies by upstart entrepreneurs; as it simply shows ,that no matter what, innovators can never have the opportunity to "put their foot on the throats" of big auto and big oil.

To GM: you folks had better start producing quality, efficient, affordable vehicles! All the while maintaining fair wages to your employs; as now, you have to answer to more than your share holders (at least I hope so).

I agree.

They should have let them fail, but if they were serious about following the set out program then Kudos to them. Although I don't wanna see it happen again that's for damn sure.

Hmm, I might want some of the GM stock in the future.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


True enough, but like any Company that received a Bail-Out, we (As the American Tax Payer) will never actually see a return we can profit from.

Basically GM saying that it has paid back its loans plus interest is BS.

It's about a 1/10 of what they borrowed, and I would really, really, really want to see were that money came from.

If the United States is part owner of GM, then couldn't the money to pay back this loan come once again from the tax payers?

I don't remember seeing GM swimming in Gold with it's most recent quarterly profits. Not enough to have to pay back the bailout, and bearly enough to keep operations going.

Since the US is part owner, Are we still putting money into the company to counter its losses? Consider also that GM is a federally backed institution now, I guess GM can print all the money they want now....

Fox


[edit on 4/21/2010 by FoxStriker]

reply to post by tothetenthpower


You do realize that the Govt still owns 61% of GM right? It's not like they have paid off the taxpayers. We are still left holding a whole lot of nothing.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower

Hmm, I might want some of the GM stock in the future.

That what the whole bailout of GM is based on. That enough people will pay enough of a price at the new IPO that will more than offset what the GOVT ponied up to save GM.

Originally posted by FoxStriker
I remain cautious.... Didn't the gov't buy into GM as part owner?...

I would want to see were the money came from...

Because Sales or even the restructuring of GM through Bankruptcy Chapter 11 wouldn't have free'd enough money to pay back these loans.

The information is out there if you look. I was and Am still against the bailout. Even while they were getting their money. In China GM was Kicking ASS.

GM China reports record sales in March

SHANGHAI — US auto giant General Motors said Friday it sold a record 230,048 vehicles in China last month with demand strong for smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

The result marked a 67.9 percent year-on-year increase and was the 15th straight monthly sales record for GM in China, the world's biggest and fastest growing auto market.

The government should have taken over GM 100% not 60%.

Then they could have cut out all the useless leaches that exist in all companies.
You know, like the CEO and all the other fat bastards that sit around doing nothing but thinking of ways to make more money.

If they cut them out then they could have made FREE cars for Americans. Imagine how that would have changed the auto industry.

But no that will never happen because that would be socialism and socialism is bad...

There's no way I'm ever buying a GM product again, for these reasons:

1. The fact that they took a taxpayer-funded loan in the first place when THEY themselves were guilty of DECADES of poor management and not adapting to consumer needs is nothing short of a travesty. If this were any other business of lesser size, they would have folded.

2. Ford was in the same dire straits and proved that they could survive the financial downturn without the bailout by making better business decisions. They didn't stick it to taxpayers and that's something I am ALWAYS going to remember as long as Mulally is CEO. GM could have done the very same thing.

3. When GM was trying to figure out how to save money they announced that they were shifting strategies to move more jobs OUT OF THE U.S. to Mexico and China.
Read Here

4. As another poster pointed out - this was just the payback of a Treasury loan, the Treasury still holds a big share of the company for funding the bankruptcy, meaning they are STILL "Government Motors".

I'm in Canada, and nothing like that has been advertised in the news today, at least, not where I live... I may have missed it, but I doubt it. It's all the same things since this morning, except for a "big" news at noon concerning something intended to make us emotional and divided... hm.

Aresh

Smoke and mirrors:

Much of the improvement comes from GM slashing its debt load and workforce as part of its bankruptcy reorganization last year. But the automaker is a long way from regaining its old blue-chip status: It remains more than 70 percent government-owned and is still losing money — $3.4 billion in last year's fourth quarter alone. And while its car and truck sales are up so far this year, that's primarily due to lower-profit sales to car rental companies and other fleet buyers.

src

To wit, their product line is more or less junk anyways. They still have a steep hill to climb and with rising unemployment and tight household budgets they are not going anywhere fast. Well maybe faster than an uncontrollable Toyota but I digress.

brill

Too bad they had to lay off 65,000 people to do it.

www.theoaklandpress.com...

During the financial crisis that led to GM filing for bankruptcy protection last year, the automaker closed 14 factories and shed more than 65,000 blue-collar jobs in the U.S. through buyouts, early retirement offers and layoffs.

Also the loan is NOT paid off.

The automaker hopes to repay the remaining $45.3 billion to the U.S. government and $8.1 billion to Canada via a public stock offering, perhaps later this year. The U.S. government now owns 61 percent of the company and Canada owns roughly 12 percent.

If you borrow 61 Billion dollars and you pay back 8 Billion a little eary, and in the process layoff 65,000 people should this be applauded and mis-reported in this fashion?

Loan paid off? This in an outright LIE!

[edit on 21-4-2010 by Carseller4]

Originally posted by Coolaid

If they cut them out then they could have made FREE cars for Americans. Imagine how that would have changed the auto industry.

But no that will never happen because that would be socialism and socialism is bad...

Put me on the list for a free Corvette.

Will the government also give me free gas to put in it so I can drive it?