General Motors Begins Repaying Government Loans

General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre says GM will repay its debt to the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and the province of Ontario by June 2010. Whitacre says the company has already taken the first step by paying the Treasury $1 billion and the governments of Canada and Ontario $192 million.

GM’s first payment comes after Whitacre announced GM’s timeline to repay its government debt. The CEO said last Tuesday that GM will repay all of its $8 billion in government loans by June. Whitacre’s new timeline to repay the debt is the shortest of any set by a GM official so far.

“We are grateful for the support the governments have provided us,” said Whitacre. “We look forward to continuing repayments through June 2010, at which time the balances will be paid in full, assuming no downturn in the economy or business.”

While GM is repaying its debt to the governments that assisted it during bankruptcy, this is not all of the money the U.S. Treasury invested in GM to keep it afloat. The remainder of the U.S. Treasury’s money will be repaid when GM once again goes public.