Uncle Sam may make an additional payout to the unsecured creditors of bankrupt mortgage lender ResCap in order to fast-track the sale of its stake in Ally Bank, The Post has learned.
The size of the payout will be determined by an independent mediator, which was appointed recently by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the liquidation of Ally’s bankrupt ResCap unit.
The mediator was appointed at the request of Ally specifically to oversee the added payout, sources said.
The first meetings between Treasury-owned Ally, the ResCap unsecured creditors and the mediator took place this month, sources close to the situation said.
A group of hedge funds has been pushing Ally to quadruple its contribution to the ResCap reorganization from the $750 million now on the table to $3 billion. Treasury owns 74 percent of Ally, and some creditors believe Ally can pay them much more without impacting regulatory capital.
The bank (formerly known as GMAC) will likely put in more equity, sources said. ResCap has already sold its mortgage servicing business and mortgage portfolio.
Every additional dollar contributed by Ally to the ResCap reorganization is a dollar less in value taxpayer-owned Ally has to pay back Treasury. After a $200 million dividend payment this week, Ally — the black sheep of the auto-related bailouts — still owes taxpayers $11.3 billion of the $17.2 billion it took.
Ally, worth more than $10 billion, will sell itself or go public once it completes the restructuring. Washington is looking to fast-track its exit from Ally as credit markets are booming, making Ally more valuable, a source said.
An Ally spokesperson declined comment.