No Runny Eggs

(H/T – Sammy Benoit via Ed Morrissey)

There is something I didn’t know about the Government Motors numbers when I ran them in September – the portion of the Debtor-In-Possession financing unused during GM’s bankruptcy, specifically $16.4 billion total (or about $14.66 in Treasury funds) went into an escrow account and were used to “repay” the post-bankruptcy loans GM had with the Treasury and Canadian governments. Quoting from the year-end 10-K filed with the SEC (emphasis added):

Proceeds of the DIP Facility of $16.4 billion were deposited in escrow and will be distributed to us at our request if the following conditions are met: (1) the representations and warranties we made in the loan documents are true and correct in all material respects on the date of our request; (2) we are not in default on the date of our request taking into consideration the amount of the withdrawal request; and (3) the UST, in its sole discretion, approves the amount and intended use of the requested disbursement. Any unused amounts in escrow on June 30, 2010 are required to be used to repay the UST Loans and the Canadian Loan on a pro rata basis. Any proceeds remaining in the escrow account after the UST Loans and the Canadian Loan are repaid in full shall be returned to us.…

In November 2009 we signed amendments to the UST Credit Agreement and the Canadian Loan Agreement to provide for quarterly repayments of the UST Loans and Canadian Loan. Under these amendments, we agreed to make quarterly payments of $1.0 billion and $192 million to the UST and EDC, which began in the fourth quarter of 2009. Upon making such payments, equivalent amounts were released to us from escrow.…

In short, the $6.7 billion post-bankruptcy loan should not really have been counted as a “new” loan.