Mich. gov, AG send letters to banks, automakers

Figured y'all might be interested in this.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mich-g...-15003992.html

Mich. gov, AG send letters to banks, automakers
Mich. governor asks banks to help Chrysler; AG says auto bankruptcies should be filed in state
LANSING, Mich. [[AP) -- Michigan's governor and attorney general have taken up letter writing in their latest efforts to affect the fate of two troubled automakers.
The federal government's auto task force has given Chrysler LLC until the end of April to make further cuts and take on a partner or face liquidation. If General Motors Corp. doesn't meet the task force's June 1 deadline, it will be forced to restructure under bankruptcy protection.


Attorney General Mike Cox on Wednesday wrote letters to GM and Chrysler leaders saying if they're going to file for bankruptcy protection, they should do it in Michigan. He cited media speculation the bankruptcy filings could be made in New York or Delaware, and said it would be "bizarre" to file for bankruptcy outside Michigan.
"The costs for many of these creditors [[in Michigan) to participate in a New York or Delaware bankruptcy is overwhelming and would undoubtedly lead to unjust bills," Cox wrote in his letters to GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli. Cox is one of several Republicans planning to run for governor in 2010.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, meanwhile, sent letters to the heads of four banks she says appear to be trying to force Chrysler into bankruptcy: JP Morgan Chase, Citicorp, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
She also sent letters to the heads of investment funds Oppenheimer Funds, Elliott Management, Perella Weinberg Partners, and Stairway Capital Management.
"Employees have taken cuts, the industry has taken cuts," Granholm said in her letter. "I urge you, too, to do your part to avoid the devastation that a bankruptcy or liquidation will bring."
Granholm noted that, because JP Morgan Chase and the other lead banks have collectively taken more than $90 billion from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, she believes they have an obligation to do everything they can to participate in the restructured Chrysler at the level requested by the president's auto task force.
"The president's team has asked them just to come back to the table with a market-based offer, and they have refused to do that -- thumbing their nose at the president, thumbing their nose at the taxpayers," Granholm told reporters Wednesday. "Who knew that we were going to be bailing out the banks in order for them to kill the auto industry?"
Associated Press Writer Dave Eggert contributed to this report.
Attorney General Mike Cox: http://www.michigan.gov/ag
Gov. Jennifer Granholm: http://www.michigan.gov/gov