NEW YORK - May 5, 2009 - GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender that received a $6 billion government bailout, reported a first- quarter loss of $675 million on surging loan defaults and the elimination of a one-time gain from extinguishing debt.

The loss compares with a deficit of $589 million a year earlier, the Detroit-based company said today in a statement. GMAC’s auto finance business recorded a profit of $225 million. The mortgage division, which includes Residential Capital LLC, lost $125 million. A previous gain of $900 million was wiped out after the company eliminated mortgage debt and revalued assets.

Rising foreclosures and tumbling auto sales left GMAC on the brink of collapse in December. The company’s bonds rallied this year after the government deemed the lender critical to the survival of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. GMAC said today in a presentation on its Web site that a GM bankruptcy wouldn’t trigger its own filing.

“Things look better now than they did at Christmas,” said Pete Hastings, a fixed-income analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co. in Memphis, Tennessee, in an interview before the report was released. “The end markets are still troubled and the economy is still tough.”