December 29, 2008 4:51PM # I’m Changing My Name to Bank Holding Company By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE It was a Merry Christmas for GMAC, which learned on Christmas Eve that [the Federal Reserve had approved ](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/24/AR2008122401848.html)its application to become a bank holding company. That gives GMAC “access to new sources of funding, including a potential infusion of taxpayer dollars from the Treasury Department and loans from the Fed itself,” as the *Washington Post* explains. Of course, that’s on top of the $13 billion that General Motors itself has been granted as a short-term bailout until a bigger bailout can be arranged. GMAC isn’t the only company that has suddenly become a “bank holding company” in order to cash in on the $700 billion financial bailout. Late one night in November, [American Express](http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/american-express-to-become-bank-holding-company/) was granted the same privilege. Not to mention Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, CIT… Maybe it’s time for a new version of Tom Paxton’s classic song “I’m Changing My Name to Chrysler,” sung [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daBx_PBrvSE&feature=related) by Arlo Guthrie: “When they hand a million grand out, I’ll be standing with my hand out.” Of course, there’s already been a new version, “I’m Changing My Name to Fannie Mae,” sung here by [Arlo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAG0XMRty5Y) and here by [Paxton](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUq7IY_7Mc&feature=related). Besides the name of the company, they had to make a few other changes in the lyrics, like “When they hand a *trillion* grand out, I’ll be standing with my hand out.” So take it away, Tom and Arlo: I’m Changing My Name to Bank Holding Company. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).