Rubin's resignation hints at sale of Ford Credit

Ford Motor may be taking a page from General Motors' restructuring playbook in considering ot sell off part of its Ford Credit financial unit. Both companies have seen the cost of capital for their financial subsidiaries rising as the automakers' credit status falls ever further into junk status.

The resignation Friday of key Ford director Robert E. Rubin was the result of Rubin's position as a board member and chairman of the executive committee at Citigroup, which Rubin feared could raise the possibility of conflict of interest. Since this hasn't been an issue up to now, the move sparked speculation that Ford Credit was in play, particularly in view of Citigroup's recent expansion of its automotive financing portfolio and its role in GM's pending sale of a majority stake in its GMAC credit arm.

Rubin is the third director to leave Ford's board this year. He joined Ford's board in 2000, after serving as Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration. Rubin is a 26-year veteran of Goldman Sachs & Co.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.








Autoblog Podcast #158: 'Twas a couple nights before Christmas...

Chris, Editor Paukert, and Dan send the Podcast off for the Christmas holiday in proper fashion

 
 

Subscribe via: iTunes | RSS


Featured Galleries

  • Gran Turismo 5 Demo
  • Spy Shots: 2011 Lincoln MKX
  • Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Edge
  • MINI Beachcomber concept
  • Gold Mercedes-Benz SLS for Dubai Motor Show
  • 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet
  • 2011 Audi A1 Graffiti Teasers
  • Reader Spy: SRT-prepped Dodge Journey R/T
  • 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is
  • Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta
  • 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X
  • First Drive: 2010 Lexus GX460
AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Autoblog Video


Autoblog Green

BloggingStocks

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum