GMAC Buys a PlaceAt the Table in U.K., Mexico Markets

Looking to expand into countries where secondary mortgage markets are taking shape, GMAC Residential Funding Corp. has bought companies in Great Britain and Mexico.

The Minneapolis-based subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corp. bought Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd., a full-service mortgage subsidiary of Birmingham Midshires in England, and Auritec SA, a special- asset servicer in Mexico City.

GMAC Residential said last week that the two acquisitions are parts of a strategic effort to strengthen the loan servicing and loss-mitigation aspects of its business. The company hopes to develop a mortgage finance business in several European countries and plans to expand into Latin America.

In England the company will operate as RFC Mortgage Services Ltd. and will forge relationships with lenders such as Birmingham Midshires. RFC will be able to administer $5 billion of mortgages, offering products to originators and lenders there. Its 270 employees will manage Birmingham Midshires' mortgage portfolio and process mortgage applications.

Auritec is the oldest servicing company in Mexico and was the first to prepare portfolios for sale by the Mexican agency responsible for disposing of troubled bank loans. The GMAC unit hopes to invest in distressed assets in Mexico.

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