GM not yet tapped Canadian government loans: exec

By Nick Carey

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. automaker General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote) has not yet taken up an offer of emergency loans from the Canadian government as it seeks to clarify the conditions that would be attached to borrowing the money, a top executive said on Monday.

"It was not as detailed as what we've been dealing with in the U.S., so we need to engage in dialogue there before we go any further," GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson told reporters at the Detroit auto show. "We haven't accepted it."

"We want to make sure it fits into an overall viability plan for GM before we accept it," he added.

The Canadian arms of GM and Chrysler LLC, which is controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP CBS.UL, are eligible for short-term loans from the Canadian government of up to C$4 billion ($3.4 billion).

Last week, Ottawa said it had deferred the first payment of C$1.2 billion until mid-January on the request of GM and Chrysler

A Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote) official said on Sunday that the No. 2 U.S. automaker has no plans to access the line of credit it has arranged with the Canadian government.

The Bush administration approved $17.4 billion in emergency loans for GM and Chrysler in December.

GM's Henderson said he was hopeful the automaker would be able to agree on concessions with the United Auto Workers union to meet conditions that the administration placed on its loans.