Chrysler Financial Meeting With Treasury Dept. Wed
01 April 2009 - 10:52PM
Dow Jones News
Leaders of Chrysler LLC's Chrysler Financial are meeting with
the U.S. Department of Treasury Wednesday in hopes of winning more
financial aid to fund more car loans.
Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman Jim Press said Wednesday that the
lending unit would quickly plow any aid into the marketplace to
spark sales.
Chrysler Financial said last month that it would seek a second
cash infusion after receiving $1.5 billion from the U.S. Department
of Treasury in January. The company is projected to run out of the
$1.5 billion by mid-April, according to a person familiar with the
discussions.
Chrysler Financial used its initial money to support Chrysler's
0% interest loan program and other sales incentives. The financial
arm more than quadrupled the number of loans it wrote, to 30,000 in
February from 7,000 in January because of the financial aid.
General Motors Corp.'s (GM) lending unit, GMAC LLC, received $6
billion in aid in December. The auto maker hasn't said if it will
also seek more funding.
-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5542;
jeff.bennett@dowjones.com
(Alex P. Kellogg contributed to this report.)