Ally Financial Inc. (known as GMAC until 2010) is an American

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as w ...

incorporated in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and headquartered at

Ally Detroit Center Ally Detroit Center, formerly One Detroit Center, is a List of tallest buildings in Detroit, skyscraper and class-A Commercial property, office building located in Downtown Detroit, overlooking the Detroit Financial District. Rising , the 43-s ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. The company provides financial services including

car finance Car finance refers to the various financial products which allow someone to acquire a car, including car loans and leases. History Car financing started with the General Motors Acceptance Corporation circa World War 1. Car purchases T ...

online banking Online banking, also known as internet banking, virtual banking, web banking or home banking, is a system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial institut ...

via a

direct bank A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct ...

, corporate lending,

vehicle insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for automobile, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bo ...

mortgage loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

s, and other related financing services such as installment sale and lease agreements. Ally is one of the largest

companies in the U.S., providing car financing and leasing for 4.1 million customers and originating 1.2 million car loans in 2023. It is on the

list of largest banks in the United States The following table lists the 100 largest bank holding companies in the United States ranked by total assets of September 30, 2024 per the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, along with the market capitalization of public banks. ...

by assets and has 2.0 million depositors. The company has sold more than five million vehicles, including 505,000 vehicles sold in 2023 via its SmartAuction

online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a wa ...

for

auto auction Auto auctions are a method of selling vehicles based on an auction system. Auto auctions can be found in most countries and are usually exclusive to licensed automobile dealers. In a few countries, such as Japan, auto auctions are well known and ...

s, launched in 2000.

History

1919–1990

The company was founded in 1919 by

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

(GM) as the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) to provide financing to automotive customers. In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the

market. In 1985, while GM was under the leadership of Roger Smith, who sought to diversify the company, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage, which included an $11 billion mortgage portfolio.

1991–2009

In 1991, the company was forced to

write-off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

$275 million in

bad debt In finance, bad debt, occasionally called uncollectible accounts expense, is a monetary amount owed to a creditor that is unlikely to be paid and for which the creditor is not willing to take action to collect for various reasons, often due to ...

as part of a $436 million loss suffered from

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

committed by John McNamara, who ran a

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...

. In 1998, the company formed GMAC Real Estate. In 1999, GMAC Mortgage acquired Ditech. In 2000, the company formed GMAC Bank, a

. In 2005, the company formed

GMAC ResCap GMAC ResCap, Inc., earlier Residential Funding Company LLC and Residential Capital Corporation, was a residential mortgage loan originator and servicer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was a subsidiary of GMAC (now Ally Financial). As a result ...

as a holding company for its mortgage operations. In 2006, General Motors sold a 51% interest in GMAC to

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Qua ...

, a

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

. Also that year, GMAC sold a

controlling interest A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the maj ...

of GMAC Commercial Holdings (its real estate division renamed Capmark) to

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

, and Five Mile Capital Partners. GMAC Real Estate was sold to

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a Canadian-American alternative asset manager. The company was founded in December 2022 as a spin-off of the asset management operations of Brookfield Corporation. At its inception, the company was headquarter ...

. In 2009, Capmark filed for bankruptcy and its North American loan origination and servicing business was acquired by Berkadia, a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

Leucadia National Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in New York City. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a part of the ''Fortune'' 1000. Investments The company's major holdings are as follows: Finan ...

and

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

. On December 24, 2008, the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

accepted the company's application to become a

. In January 2009, the company closed

Nuvell Financial Services Nuvell Financial Services was a subsidiary of GMAC (now Ally Financial) that originated subprime auto loans. In March 2009, the company was shut down by its parent. Nuvell was based in Little Rock, Arkansas, with other offices in Bedford, Texas, J ...

, its subprime lending division. As a result of losses in

, a subsidiary of the company, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

invested $17.2 billion in the company in 2008–2009. The Treasury sold its last stake in the company in 2014, recovering $19.6 billion from its $17.2 billion investment. In April 2009 the bank announced plans to move its Charlotte office from Ballantyne to on four floors of 440 South Church, with possible expansion later. At the time, the bank had 265 Charlotte employees in three business units. In May 2009, GMAC Bank was rebranded as Ally Bank.

2010–2019

In May 2010, GMAC re-branded itself as Ally Financial. In September 2010, the company sold its resort finance business to

Centerbridge Partners Centerbridge Partners, L.P. is a multi-strategy private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and distressed securities. The firm manages over $56 billion of assets

. In 2012, the company sold its Canadian banking operations to

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

for $3.8 billion. In April 2014, it became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

. In 2015, it moved its headquarters to One Detroit Center, which was subsequently renamed

. In June 2016, the company acquired TradeKing, a

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

age, for $275 million, which was re-branded as Ally Invest. In May 2016, Ally Bank re-entered the mortgage business with the launch of its direct-to-consumer offering called Ally Home. In April 2019, Ally Home partnered with Better.com for mortgage loan selling, processing,

mortgage underwriting Mortgage underwriting is the process a lender uses to determine if the risk (especially the risk that the borrower will default ) of offering a mortgage loan to a particular borrower is acceptable and is a part of the larger mortgage origination ...

, and closing services. In October 2019, Ally acquired Health Credit Services (HCS), a technology-focused patient financing company based in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. It was sold to

Synchrony Financial Synchrony Financial is an American consumer financial services company with its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. The company offers consumer financing products, including credit, promotional financing and loyalty programs, ...

in March 2024.

2020–present

On May 3, 2021, Ally began occupying 725,000 square feet at

Ally Charlotte Center Ally Charlotte Center is a 2-building development in Uptown Charlotte, Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The office building was officially completed on May 3, 2021, it stands at a height of 378 (115.2). Each floor has an open floor plan and av ...

. In December 2021, Ally acquired Fair Square Financial, a credit card company, for $750 million and rebranded it as Ally Credit Card.

Awards and recognition

In 2022, the Disability Equality Index (DEI) listed Ally as one of the ''Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion''.

Sponsorships

In 2022, Ally committed to reach equal spending in paid advertising across women's and men's sports programming over the next five years. Sponsorships include: * League-wide sponsor for NASCAR, the official consumer bank of NASCAR and NASCAR-owned tracks (2023–present) *

Rocket League Championship Series The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is an annual ''Rocket League'' esports tournament series produced by Blast ApS and endorsed by Psyonix, the game's developer. It consists of two online qualification splits in several regions, with t ...

* Miami International Auto Show * ''Time'' Dealer of the Year award *

The Ally Challenge The Ally Challenge is a PGA Tour Champions event at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, just south of Flint, which debuted in September 2018. The tournament is sponsored by Grand Blanc-based McLaren Health Care ...

* Primary sponsor for

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

(2019-2020) * Hendrick Motorsports (1998-2007) with drivers

Jack Sprague Jack Eugene Sprague (born August 8, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver who has competed in all of NASCAR's three top divisions, most notably in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he won series championships in 1997, 1999 an ...

Ricky Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Ricky" Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 – October 24, 2004) was an American stock car racing driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a NASCAR team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in Charlotte, North Ca ...

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...

and

Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. He ...

Alex Bowman Alexander Michael Warren Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 f ...

took over the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet in 2021 after Johnson transitioned from NASCAR to the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

; In 2022,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Milestone Media Milestone Media Company LLC is the media company which created the Milestone Comics line, which were published and distributed by DC Comics. Milestone Media created the source material that was adapted as the '' Static Shock'' animated series. T ...

, and

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

partnered with Ally and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

to debut a sponsorship and new paint scheme, based on the DC superhero character Static, for Alex Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the

team, in support of DC's ''The Milestone Initiative'' program. *

Naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

of the Ally 400 - the Cup Series' race at

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It is currently owned by Speedway Motorsport ...

(2021-2024) *

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(2021–present) *

National Women's Soccer League Players Association The National Women's Soccer League Players Association (often known as NWSL Players Association or NWSLPA) is the officially recognized union of players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). History The NWSLPA was formed in May 2017 un ...

(2022–present) *

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(2020–present) *

alongside

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese racing driver and motorsport executive, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, Toyota and in Super Formula for KC Motorgroup, KCMG. Kobayashi competed in Formula One from to . In end ...

and

Simon Pagenaud Simon Pierre Michel Pagenaud (; born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver, who last drove the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the ...

(2021);

Mike Rockenfeller Mike Rockenfeller (born 31 October 1983), nicknamed "Rocky", is a German professional racing driver and was an Audi factory driver competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won his first DTM ...

joined the team for

2021 24 Hours of Daytona The 2021 24 Hours of Daytona (formally the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona) was an endurance sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event was held at Daytona International Speedway combined road course in ...

. * ACC women's basketball tournament

Legal issues

2013 discrimination settlement

In December 2013, the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...

(CFPB) and

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

ordered the company to pay $80 million in consumer monetary

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

and $18 million in

civil penalties A civil penalty or civil fine is a financial penalty imposed by a government agency as restitution for wrongdoing. The wrongdoing is typically defined by a Codification (law), codification of legislation, regulations, and decrees. The civil fine ...

after determining that 235,000 minority borrowers paid higher interest rates for auto loans originated between April 2011 and December 2013 because of the company's discriminatory pricing system. The higher rates resulted from the company's specific policy of allowing dealers to charge, at their discretion, a "dealer markup" above Ally's established "buy rate" and then compensating dealers based on the markup. Ally provided an incentive for dealers to charge higher rates, in violation of the

Equal Credit Opportunity Act The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) is a United States law (codified at et seq.), enacted October 28, 1974, that makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1919 establishments in Michigan 2014 initial public offerings American companies established in 1919 Banks based in Michigan Banks established in 1919 Companies based in Detroit Companies in the S&P 400 Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Financial services companies established in 1919 Financial services companies of the United States Mortgage lenders of the United States Online banks Online brokerages