-
Ally Bank, which has been known for online deposit-gathering and ads that poked fun at traditional banks, was the envy of some in the industry and a source of anger for others. But now it is looking to alter its business model as its struggling parent company retools.
March 20 -
Ally Financial in Detroit announced its second big management change in less than two months.
March 19
Ally Financial, the auto lender rescued by the U.S. government during the 2008 financial crisis, promoted Diane Morais to chief executive officer of the banking unit as Jeffrey Brown reshapes management.
Morais, who joined Ally in 2008, has overseen the bank's deposits business, the Detroit-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Her predecessor, Barbara Yastine, 55, announced March 19 that she was stepping down from the position she had held since 2012.
Ally Financial is seeking to boost its profitability by expanding the deposit-gathering bank. Brown, 42, who took over as CEO of the parent company in February, has said he wants to increase the firm's non-prime auto loans and fund them through the bank subsidiary, a cheaper option that was restricted before the government sold the last of its stake in December.
"Ally Bank has been a great success story for the company, and Di has been a part of that journey since it began," Brown said in the statement.
The lender, which traces its roots as a financing arm of General Motors Co., was bailed out by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2008 and 2009 as part of the effort to save the auto industry. Ally Financial is under pressure to boost earnings after GM said it will use its own lending unit for leases on brands including Buick, Cadillac and GMC.
The bank's retail deposits increased 11 percent last year to $48 billion. The customer base climbed 16 percent to about 909,000 accounts in 2014.
