US bank Ally Financial exits TARP bailout

US bank Ally Financial, rescued during the 2008 financial crisis, has exited the TARP bailout program, the Treasury Department said Friday.

The Treasury said it had sold its remaining stake of 54.9 million shares in Ally for $23.25 per share, gaining $1.3 billion for taxpayers.

The sale marked the Treasury's last major investment in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), it said in a statement.

According to the Treasury, taxpayers recovered $19.6 billion on the investment in Ally, the former GMAC, the auto-financing arm of General Motors that was sold off and became a bank holding company during the financial crisis.

Taxpayers have netted a profit of roughly $2.4 billion on the original $17.2 billion investment in the automotive financial services provider, the Treasury said.

"We are appreciative of the investment the US Treasury made in Ally and their understanding of how important available financing was to the US auto recovery," said Michael Carpenter, chief executive of Ally, in a separate statement.

Ally shares jumped 3.4 percent to $23.53 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Treasury said it had now recovered $441.7 billion on TARP investments, including the sale of its shares in insurance giant American International Group, compared with $426.4 billion paid out.