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Back when this whole financial crisis first hit, the Australian government made the populist move of guaranteeing all deposits held in bank accounts in this country. It was popular with the average Joe and with their bank, but quite unpopular with a lot of investment houses as people scrambled to get their money from the potential black hole into a safe and secure bank account.

In the US, there’s only certain types of institutions that can get access to the Troubled Asser Recovery Program (TARP) funds. These are referred to as bank holding companies. Up until Christmas eve, GMAC wasn’t one of them and was at dire risk of going bankrupt, just like their former parent company.

A GMAC bankruptcy would have most like dragged GM down with it as GMAC finance most of the vehicles sitting on GM dealer lots that are waiting to be sold to customers. They also finance many of those purchases when things are healthy.

The word came through that GMAC had been saved right on Christmas Eve, though any rumours that Hollywood will now make a movie about it are as yet unconfirmed.

There are some conditions that I’m sure GM and majority owner, Cerberus, will be happy to meet. Here’s the story from Automotive News:

GMAC LCC won Federal Reserve approval today to become a bank holding company, giving it access to government lending programs, after owners General Motors and Cerberus agreed to cut their stakes.

GM agreed to reduce its 49 percent stake in GMAC to no more than 10 percent, while Cerberus, which owns 51 percent, will distribute equity interests to investors to get its control to no more than 14.9 percent of voting shares.

A GMAC spokeswoman called it a “key turning point in our 89-year history.”

“GMAC believes becoming a bank holding company is the best long-term solution to provide automotive and mortgage financing to consumers and businesses, including auto dealers,” spokeswoman Gina Proia said.

Cerberus declined to comment.

The move comes just days after GM and Chrysler, which is owned by Cerberus, were promised public money from the Treasury-run financial bailout fund to stave off potential bankruptcy.

GM’s dealers had said that their customers were having difficulty getting credit from GMAC to buy new cars and were pressing for a swift resolution of GMAC’s bid to become a bank.

Of course, all this means a steadier ship, which is a better situation for Saab. Recent talk from GM senior executives has indicated that they intend to sell Saab. It’s better that this be done in stable circumstances rather than in a panic.