DCR Rates General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s 300 Billion Italian Lira Eurobond Offering 'A-'
9 February 1998
DCR Rates General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s 300 Billion Italian Lira Eurobond Offering 'A-'CHICAGO, Feb. 9 -- Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. (DCR) has assigned a 'A-' (Single-A-Minus) rating to General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s (GMAC) 300 billion Italian lira eurobond offering. The bonds pay a coupon rate of 5.0 percent, were priced at 101.12, and mature March 2, 2001. GMAC's ratings reflect its close marketing and financial ties with parent General Motors Corp. (GM) and GMAC's typically strong asset quality and profitability measures. GM's restructuring efforts are critical to its ongoing efforts to achieve a leaner cost structure and more effective product line strategy. Due to the continued growth in the retail operating lease portfolio and the partial residual risk borne by GM, DCR believes the credit rating relationship between GM and GMAC has been strengthened. For the year ended December 31, 1997, earnings were $1,301 million, versus $1,241 million for the year ended 1996. This increase was due mainly to solid performance and growth in the insurance and mortgage financing operations. Retail finance volumes will remain partly dependent on GM's sales volumes and incentives. Retail asset quality measures have eased somewhat following the strong industrywide performance in recent years. In response, management has tightened credit standards on new originations and instituted more aggressive collections efforts. These strategies have stabilized retail credit quality. Wholesale asset quality is expected to remain solid. Leverage has increased slightly due to the improved cost of balance sheet debt, relative to securitization funding. Leverage is now targeted in the 9- to-10:1 range. Bank facilities limit leverage to 11:1. SOURCE Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co.