Southern Wine alcohol distributor seeks loans of $2 billion

General Motors Co. made the first payment on its giant installment loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments Friday, sending $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $192 million to Canada.

The company plans to repay both governments in full by the end of June, but Chairman and acting CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. said in a statement that repayment is contingent on no downturns in the economy or GM’s business. GM owes the U.S. government a total of $52 billion, with $6.7 billion of that in loans. GM also owes $1.4.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet is taking up legislation to provide Greece with billions of euros in aid as part of a European Union bailout plan.

Merkel says she is fast-tracking the legislation with the goal of having it passed by Germany's parliament by Friday.

Germany, the euro zone's largest economy, will be the largest contributor of loans and had insisted that Greece commit to new austerity measures before it committed to them.

Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it loaned $19.4 billion to small and medium-sized businesses during the first quarter, an increase of nearly $3 billion compared with the same period last year.

The bank, among the hardest hit during the credit crisis, has made a commitment to loan $86.4 billion to small and medium-sized business this year. That's $5 billion more than in 2009.

Like other national banks, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank became more reluctant to lend after millions of home and consumer loans went into default during the recession. As a result, many consumers and small businesses were unwilling to take on more debt, a trend that reduced demand for loans.

The International Monetary Fund plans to meet Sunday to approve a $40 billion loan to Greece as part of a rescue package to save the country from looming bankruptcy.

The bailout includes a $105 billion loan from the 15 other European Union members who use the euro as their currency.

An IMF spokesman said Tuesday its decision-making board would convene on Sunday to act on Greece's request for a loan.

General Motors' repayment of a $6.7 billion government loan was criticized Wednesday by a top Republican lawmaker, who said the automaker simply shuffled federal bailout funds to pay back taxpayers.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, scolded General Motors for failing to acknowledge in advertising publicizing the loan repayment that the government still owns nearly 61 percent of the Detroit automaker. He questioned whether taxpayers ever would be fully compensated.

"The hype does not match the reality. Taxpayers have not been repaid in full - far from it. ... Much of it will never be repaid," Grassley said.