General Motors to Announce Complete Loan Payback Today

General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre is expected to announce today that the automaker has already paid off all of its $6.7 billion in loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments. Back in November, GM announced it would begin paying back the loans and today Whitacre is scheduled to make the announcement that the remaining $5.8 billion has now been returned to the taxpayers that supported the American auto giant when it was in trouble.

A press conference is set for later today at GM’s Fairfax, Kan. assembly plant, where Whitacre is also expected to announce the expansion of production facilities there. Currently the plant builds the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse.

This payback is, however, just a small potion of the almost $50 billion in taxpayer dollars used to support GM through its bankruptcy. As a result of that, the U.S. government still holds a 61 percent stake in the automaker. This news, however, is a sign that GM’s recovery is happening more quickly than expected. The U.S. Treasury had said it would agree to sell off its shares in GM once the debut is reduced to $3 billion – so expect an announcement of that nature to follow.

[Source: AutoNews]