GMAC Launches Online Only Bank

Here at Auto Credit Express, we wrote an article last year when General Motors Acceptance Corporation – known by its initials “GMAC” to most consumers – applied for and was granted status as a bank holding company in order to receive federal bailout money.

On Friday, May 15th, GMAC, which has operations in North America, South America, Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region, announced that a newly formed unit of the company, called Ally Bank, will begin offering a variety of savings products, including no-penalty CD’s (certificates of deposit), online savings accounts and money market accounts.

The key phrase here is “online”, as there will be no brick-and-mortar branches, although the company hasn’t ruled out the possibility of future physical locations. According to bank officials, the transition for current GMAC Bank customers to Ally Bank will be “seamless.” The new bank also promises to avoid teaser tactics and offer rates “among the best in the country for all of our savings products, “ according to GMAC CEO Al de Molina.

Services offered

According to information from Ally, the bank will offer:

• No-Penalty CDs with No Strings Attached - Customers can withdraw funds prior to the maturity date without a fee and transfer the funds to any account at any bank without penalty.

•    Sleeping Money Alerts - While most banks are happy to let customer deposits earn minimum interest, Ally Bank will send an email to customers when funds have been idle for three months and when the customer can be earning a higher rate of return.

•    No Teaser Rates - Ally Bank will not “bait and switch” depositors with teaser rates that later change on CDs or other products.

•    Leading Bank Rates - Ally Bank is committed to always offering rates among the best in the country across all savings products. The Ally Bank Website clearly posts a rate comparison tool, enabling customers to check out the competition.

•    No Sneaky Disclaimers - Ally Bank provides complete transparency on rates and terms, and won’t hide behind legalese and jargon.

•    24/7 Customer Service - Recognizing that not all questions can be answered by an automated system or during traditional business hours, Ally Bank offers around-the-clock access to a call center agent for customer assistance.

•    No Minimums - There are no minimum deposits or minimum balances required at Ally Bank.

Why the name “Ally”?

While there’s no question that the General Motors tie-in with the name GMAC gave the lender a boost in the past, the constant negative publicity the automaker has received in the past few months certainly would seem to have played a part in the decision to establish a separate identity for the new bank.

The word ally, according to Webster, means “to unite or form a relationship between.” According to Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer, “The Ally brand is founded on three principles: Talking straight, doing what is right for the customer, and being obviously better than the competition…The name Ally aptly fits the character of the brand.”