Treasury Seeks an Exit From G.M. by Year End

The Treasury Department said on Thursday that it would sell its remaining shares in General Motors by year end, allowing the government to finally sever ties to the bailed-out automaker a few months sooner than expected.

If the government meets that projected timeline â€" the plan is subject to market conditions â€" it would clear the last vestiges of its 2009 rescues of G.M. and Chrysler, controversial moves that the Obama administration has defended as crucial to saving jobs. In exchange for providing loans to the two carmakers, the Obama administration took majority stakes in the companies.

The lifelines to G.M. and Chrysler have cost taxpayers several billion dollars. Others that the government extended during the crisis, including those to the American International Group and a host of banks, generated profits by the time they were concluded.

After having sold 70.2 million shares as part of its already-disclosed plan, the Treasury Department now owns about 31.1 million shares, or about 2 percent of the company’s outstanding shares. As of Thursday, that stake is valued at about $1.2 billion.

Barring a sudden jump in G.M.’s stock price, the government is on track to lose about $10 billion on its investment. So far, it has recovered about $38.4 billion. By contrast, other rescue efforts, including the bailout of the American International Group, have generated profits for taxpayers.

But administration officials have long argued that the aim was not to make a profit from its investments in the automakers. Instead, it was meant to preserve an already struggling industry badly wounded by the financial crisis.

“Treasury’s investment in the American auto industry was part of President Obama’s broader response to the financial crisis, and it helped save more than one million jobs,” Tim Bowler, a Treasury deputy assistant secretary, said in a statement. “Had we not acted to support the automotive industry, the cost to the country would have been substantial â€" in terms of lost jobs, lost tax revenue, reduced economic production, and other consequences.”

And government officials have long been loath to hold onto G.M. shares longer than necessary. The Treasury Department first began selling its stake in the fall of 2010, pricing an initial public offering at $27.50 a share. Last year, it sold 200 million shares back to the company for $5.5 billion and paved the way for a full exit from the automaker.

A sale of the Treasury Department’s stake also would allow G.M. to finally shed any lingering concern about “Government Motors.” The full divestiture of the administration’s shares will lift restrictions on executive pay and dividends to shareholders. It could also help the company in its plan to replace its current chief executive, Daniel F. Akerson, who has signaled that he planned to step down by the end of next year.

G.M. has rebounded since its return to the markets: It reported a nearly 16 percent rise in auto sales during October, the biggest jump among the three big Detroit manufacturers. Its core brands, including Chevrolet and GMC, showed double-digit gains.

Over all, G.M. shares have risen about 12 percent. It has remained above the I.P.O. price since April. And this past summer, the company rejoined the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, a position it had held for 84 years until its Chapter 11 filing.

“While the U.S. Treasury’s equity stake draws to a close, our work to transform G.M. continues,” the company said in a statement on Thursday. “We’re making great progress in our efforts to make the most of this second chance by building outstanding cars and trucks, creating jobs and reinvesting in our country.”