Ally says Michael Carpenter is retiring as CEO after 5 years; company promotes Jeffrey Brown

Auto financing company Ally Financial says that Michael Carpenter, who became the company's CEO about a year after Ally was bailed out by the federal government, is retiring and stepping down from the board of directors.

Jeffrey Brown, 41, was named after the markets closed Monday as the company's new CEO, effective immediately. He has been president and CEO of Ally's dealer financial services unit for almost a year.

Ally Financial Inc. is the former financing arm of General Motors. It received a $17.2 bailout starting in 2008, and Carpenter, 67, became the company's CEO in November 2009. The federal government said in December that it was selling the last of its shares in Ally. The company said the government made $18 billion on its investment prior to that sale.

The Detroit-based company also announced in December that it received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice related to subprime auto loans, or loans made to borrowers with questionable credit histories.

Ally went public in April. Its shares rose 47 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $19.55 in late afternoon trading Tuesday.