GMAC's model may change

GMAC Financial Services' transition into a bank holding company should buy the troubled lender some time to turn itself around, but the cost is a loss of control for its owners General Motors Corp. and Cerberus Capital Management. It also raises a number of questions, including who will control GMAC going forward and how much its business model might change.

GMAC, which is 49-percent owned by GM, provides auto financing to GM customers and dealerships. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved GMAC's application to become a bank holding company - allowing the lender to qualify for the government's $700 billion rescue fund.

The Fed order says GM will reduce its stake to less than 10 percent of the voting and total equity interest of GMAC. GM's remaining equity interest in GMAC will be transferred to an independent government-accepted trustee who must dispose of the equity held in the trust within three years of the trust's creation. Cerberus, which led an investment group that bought a 51-percent stake in GMAC from in 2006, will reduce its holdings to no more than 33 percent.

Analysts have speculated that without financial help, GMAC would have to file for bankruptcy, dealing a serious blow to GM's chances for survival.