Ally Financial is continuing talks with Nationstar about the REIT buying Residential Capital Corp./GMAC through a ‘prepackaged’ bankruptcy transaction, according to investment bankers familiar with the companies.
Those talks are considered still active, sources said, and come amid news that ResCap missed a bond payment deadline this week.
Sources contend that ResCap is no longer trying to sell mortgage servicing rights to raise much needed cash and is hoping for a deal with Nationstar, which recently sold shares to the public.
In other ResCap/GMAC developments, early Thursday Fitch Ratings downgraded the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) on ResCap to 'C' from 'CCC'. In addition, Fitch placed the 'BB-' long-term IDR and senior unsecured debt rating of Ally Financial and its subsidiaries on ‘Rating Watch Negative.’
“Today's downgrade of ResCap's IDR follows its decision to not make a scheduled interest payment on $473 million of senior unsecured notes due in 2013. Although ResCap has a 30 day grace period under the note's indenture, Fitch believes that missing the scheduled interest payment has increased the risk of default,” the firm said in a statement.
Thursday afternoon Ally had no comment on these developments. A Nationstar executive did not return an email about the matter.
ResCap/GMAC is the nation’s sixth largest home mortgage lender, and fifth largest servicer, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.
Ally is 74% owned by the U.S. Treasury. ResCap has been undergoing costs cuts and recently shuttered its MBS trading desk and halted third-party GNMA lending.