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DETROIT — While rumors have recently circulated that General Motors is considering taking back a majority stake in GMAC, that no longer appears to be the case.

Auto Remarketing confirmed Thursday that the automaker is looking to strike new lender relationships to drive sales and help dealers and apparently, Chase and Wells Fargo are two key contenders.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, isn't interested in selling a majority stake in GMAC back to the automaker, which left GM seeking other options.

GM already works with AmeriCredit to get credit-challenged customers behind the wheel of its vehicles, but wants more.

A GM spokesperson told Auto Remarketing Thursday, "Access to financing is an important part of the vehicle sales process, and we're using a multi-pronged approach to provide competitive financing for our dealers and customers.

"First, we have an excellent, long-standing relationship with Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) and they continue to play an important role in our business," said Tom Wilkinson. "In addition, we have relationships with other major institutions and credit unions that provide additional alternatives. Finally, we are developing relationships with other financial sources on a selective basis for specialized financing needs, such as leasing and subprime financing."

He went on to indicate, "Because the sources we're leveraging today predominantly enjoy the benefit of being deposit-funded institutions, they are stable, cost-efficient providers. Going forward, we believe the auto financing business will continue to evolve and we'll continue to assess our overall needs."

A report for Reuters pointed to Chase and Wells Fargo as two key candidates GM is in talks with.

While GM executives realize that lender relationships won't have the same benefit of a captive, they apparently see it as a step in the right direction to increasing sales, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Ultimately, as GM seeks an initial public offering, its management team is looking to position the company so it shows in the best possible light for investors.

On a similar note, Chrysler recently entered a deal with Santander to increase sales. It also expanded its relationship with GMAC so the lender dives a bit deeper into the credit spectrum.

Santander specializes in financing customers with FICOs of 650 and below. About 22 percent of Chrysler customers fall into the non-prime category. As for GMAC, how far down it buys in the credit spectrum largely depends on each individual customer's credit history as well as time at residence, time on same job, etc., which is what most finance companies review prior to booking a deal.

A Chrysler spokesperson noted that GMAC financed the largest number of deals for the company in the first quarter.