Car Dealers' Next Headache: Inventory Loans

By JOHN D. STOLL For Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. dealerships, slow sales are just part of their worries. Now they're bracing for possible auto-maker bankruptcy filings that could trigger repayment of their inventory loans. The two auto makers have about 10,000 dealers in the U.S., with the bulk of them carrying considerable debt, mainly from the money they borrow to buy cars that sit on their lots. If Chrysler or GM were to file for bankruptcy protection, the banks extending that credit could immediately begin calling dealer loans, demanding a good portion of the money back and refusing to extend any more inventory financing. U.S. taxpayers, meanwhile, could be called to the rescue. At issue are loans for inventory, known as "wholesale" loans or "floorplan" financing, that are primarily given by GMAC LLC and Chrysler Financial to dealers so they can buy vehicles to stock their showrooms. These loans are typically backed by the vehicles that are being financed by the dealer and paid back when the vehicles are sold. Chrysler Financial and GMAC, run independently and answering to different shareholders, have "clawback" provisions that allow the finance companies to demand at least partial payment of the loans in the event of a bankruptcy because the value of the vehicles being used as collateral would plummet. Other lenders are believed to have similar provisions. Last week, the National Automobile Dealers Association met with the Treasury's task force on the auto industry to talk about the issue, particularly as it pertains to Chrysler, but walked away without a solution, NADA Chairman John McEleney said. "It's a huge problem that we don't have the answer to," Mr. McEleney said in a telephone interview late last week. "I feel a little better because the task force seems to understand." Chrysler Financial and GMAC have "clawback" provisions that allow the finance companies to demand at least partial payment of inventory loans in the event of a bankruptcy because the value of the vehicles being used as collateral would plummet. Above, vehicles for sale are lined up at a Chrysler dealership in Glendale, Calif., on Friday. Mr. McEleney said NADA is looking for some guarantees from the Obama administration that would help prevent dealer failures that could result from the clawback provisions. An Obama administration official briefed on the meeting said "it was a good discussion and a thoughtful exchange, but certainly there was no commitment. On Monday, GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson is scheduled to present an update on the company's revised viability plan. Mr. Henderson is expected to announce further reductions of plants and brands, including the iconic Pontiac brand, and GM could launch a debt-for-equity exchange with unsecured bondholders who are owed about $28 billion. The exchange must commence Monday in order to avoid default on a $1 billion loan that is due for payment June 1. GM also needs to make progress on cutting hourly labor costs, and reducing the amount of cash it owes United Auto Worker retirees for future health-care obligations. The administration is faced with a balancing act in how it should help the thousands of dealers selling GM and Chrysler vehicles, just as it does with auto-parts makers.. On the one hand, bankruptcy would be a way to help the two U.S. companies outmaneuver uncompetitive supply contracts with parts makers and onerous state franchise laws that protect underperforming dealers from being closed down. Just as Treasury officials have demanded major concessions from the UAW and bondholders, they are also calling for a sharp decrease in the amount of dealers and suppliers connected to GM and Chrysler. But completely ignoring their plight could lead to a unintended collapse of the whole network of companies dependent on the two companies, and that could lead to tens of thousands of job losses in coming months at the auto-parts companies, and dealers. Auto suppliers received a $5 billion aid package from Treasury in March. Treasury officials also designed a government warranty program for GM and Chrysler dealers so that buyers would feel safer buying cars from two companies on the edge of collapse. Traditionally, three-quarters of the dealers at both Chrysler and GM finance their inventories through GMAC or Chrysler Financial because those companies typically make wholesale loans the top priority when it comes to auto-industry lending, and because credit is typically extended at a discount rate. A person familiar with Chrysler Financial's position on the clawback provision said the company will work with each dealer on a case-by-case basis. GMAC alone currently extends over $20 billion in wholesale financing to U.S. dealers for inventory purposes. GM, in documents filed in February with the Treasury , said direct financing to dealers for inventory could end up costing taxpayers between $2 billion and $14 billion over the course of the company's stay in bankruptcy, should a Chapter 11 filing come to pass. Chrysler's projection on the matter is unclear. As of the end of the first quarter, GM and Chrysler dealers had 1.1 million vehicles of unsold inventory on their lots. The two companies sold 660,000 vehicles during the entire first quarter, and there is little indication that an uptick in sales will help clear the inventory. The administration's auto task force has been considering indirect ways of helping dealers, such as measures that would allow GM and Chrysler to once again offer leases on new vehicles, something they stopped doing last summer, people familiar with the matter said. They are also looking at how the auto makers can trim dealer networks. Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com