May 21 (Bloomberg) -- GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender bailed out in December, is cleared to sell government-backed debt for the first time and will get an additional $7.5 billion in rescue funds, said a person familiar with the situation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will guarantee as much as $7.4 billion in GMAC debt, said the person, who declined to be named because the announcement hasn’t been made public. The Federal Reserve is giving GMAC an exemption on some lending restrictions, the person said.

The second capital infusion will bring the government’s investment in GMAC to $13.5 billion. It signals the Obama administration’s commitment to secure financing for customers and dealers of Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp., two of the country’s three biggest automakers. The companies want a lender offering lower rates and flexible terms for borrowers to compete with Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive officer of research firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California.

“They need that relationship to be competitive against Ford and Toyota and other players out there that have strong finance arms that can actually stretch and help them sell more cars,” Anwyl said yesterday in a phone interview.

Treasury spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen and GMAC spokeswoman Gina Proia weren’t immediately available for comment.

The contract with the government includes a four-year agreement for GMAC to be the preferred provider of incentivized retail financing for Chrysler, and originate loans to customers that had relied on Chrysler Financial.

Chrysler filed for bankruptcy on April 30, and GM is likely to follow on June 1, as the U.S. auto industry suffers from 18 straight months of declining sales.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net; Rebecca Christie in Washington at rchristie4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 21, 2009 18:23 EDT