Ally Financial
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessor | General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | General Motors |
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Car finance, online banking, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mortgage loans, installment sales, leasing agreements |
Number of employees | 265 (as of 2009 office move; current number not specified) |
| Website | ally |
Ally Financial Inc.—known as GMAC prior to 2010—is a Delaware-incorporated American bank holding company with its main office located in the Ally Detroit Center in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides a range of financial services, including car finance, online banking through a direct bank, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mortgage loan offerings, and related financing solutions such as installment sales and leasing agreements.
As one of the leading car finance providers in the United States, Ally serves approximately 4.0 million customers and originated around 1.2 million auto loans in 2024. It also ranks among the largest U.S. banks by assets, boasting 3.3 million depositors and maintaining 6.3 million retail banking accounts.[1][2] In the same year, Ally facilitated the sale of 556,000 vehicles via its SmartAuction platform, an online auto auction marketplace established in 2000.[1]
1919–1990
The company was originally founded in 1919 by General Motors (GM) under the name General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), primarily to provide automotive financing.[3] In 1939, it broadened its services by launching Motors Insurance Corporation to enter the vehicle insurance market.[4]
During Roger Smith’s tenure as GM CEO in 1985, GMAC expanded its operations by establishing GMAC Mortgage and acquiring Colonial Mortgage alongside Norwest Mortgage’s servicing division, which included an $11 billion mortgage portfolio.[5]
1991–2009
In 1991, the firm recorded a $275 million charge for bad debt following a $436 million loss linked to fraud committed by John McNamara, who ran a Ponzi scheme.
The late 1990s saw further diversification: GMAC Real Estate was founded in 1998; GMAC Mortgage acquired Ditech in 1999; and in 2000, GMAC launched GMAC Bank as a direct banking entity. By 2005, GMAC ResCap was formed to oversee its mortgage-related businesses.
In 2006, General Motors divested a majority interest (51%) of GMAC to Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm. That same year, GMAC sold controlling shares of its real estate arm—renamed Capmark—to Goldman Sachs, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Five Mile Capital Partners. Subsequently, GMAC Real Estate was sold to Brookfield Asset Management. Capmark filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009; its North American loan origination and servicing units were acquired by Berkadia, a partnership between Leucadia National and Berkshire Hathaway.
On December 24, 2008, the Federal Reserve authorized the company’s transition into a bank holding company. Shortly thereafter, in January 2009, the organization ceased operations of Nuvell Financial Services, its subprime lending division.
Following significant losses at GMAC ResCap, the U.S. Treasury invested $17.2 billion between 2008 and 2009 and fully divested by 2014, recovering $19.6 billion from its investment.
In April 2009, Ally announced plans to relocate its Charlotte office to 440 South Church Street, occupying over 106,000 square feet with room for future growth; at that time, it employed approximately 265 personnel across three business units.
By May 2009, GMAC Bank had rebranded itself as Ally Bank.
2010–2019
In May 2010, GMAC underwent a rebranding, adopting the name Ally Financial.
By September 2010, Ally divested its resort financing division, selling it to Centerbridge Partners.
Two years later, in 2012, the company sold its Canadian banking operations to Royal Bank of Canada for $3.8 billion. Ally Financial launched its initial public offering in April 2014. In 2015, the firm shifted its main office to One Detroit Center, which was subsequently renamed Ally Detroit Center.
In June 2016, Ally expanded by acquiring the brokerage TradeKing for $275 million, which was later rebranded as Ally Invest. The company re-entered the mortgage lending sector in May 2016 but withdrew from this market in January 2025.
October 2019 saw Ally acquire Health Credit Services, a provider specializing in healthcare financing; this business was later sold to Synchrony Financial in March 2024.
2020–present
On May 3, 2021, Ally commenced operations in a new space totaling 725,000 square feet at Ally Charlotte Center. In December of that year, Ally purchased credit card issuer Fair Square Financial for $750 million. This credit card portfolio and its platform were subsequently sold to CardWorks in April 2025.
Sponsorships
In 2022, Ally committed to allocating equal budgets for advertising across both women’s and men’s sports programming over a five-year period.
NASCAR
Starting in 2023, Ally became the official consumer banking partner for NASCAR and tracks owned by NASCAR.
Drivers affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports who have received Ally sponsorship include Jack Sprague, Ricky Hendrick, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears (1998–2007), Jimmie Johnson (2019–2020), and Alex Bowman (from 2021 onward).
Ally holds the naming rights for the Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway through the years 2021 to 2024.
Other
In 2021, Jimmie Johnson competed alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Simon Pagenaud, while Mike Rockenfeller participated in the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona race.
Title sponsorships
- The company has sponsored The Ally Challenge golf tournament since 2018.
- Since 2015, Ally has supported the Time Dealer of the Year award.
- Ally has been a sponsor of the National Women's Soccer League since 2021 and began sponsoring the National Women's Soccer League Players Association in 2022.
- Sponsorship of the ACC women's basketball tournament commenced in 2023.
- Since 2020, Ally has been a sponsor of Charlotte FC, a team in Major League Soccer.
- The company began sponsoring the Rocket League Championship Series starting in 2023.
- Ally sponsored the Miami International Auto Show from 2014 through 2016.
2013 discrimination settlement
In December 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau together with the United States Department of Justice mandated that the company pay $80 million in consumer restitution along with $18 million in civil fines. This settlement resolved allegations of discriminatory auto loan pricing practices impacting approximately 235,000 minority borrowers between April 2011 and December 2013. The root cause was identified as Ally's policy permitting dealers to add discretionary "dealer markups" above Ally’s base "buy rate," which encouraged higher interest rates and violated provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
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