General Motors Co is considering buying back part of Ally Financial, its former GMAC auto loan business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing three people familiar with the situation.

GM has not approached Ally Financial and there is no indication whether Ally would be open to a proposal, people familiar with the matter told the paper.

GM executives are weighing the idea of a new approach to Ally Financial to give the auto maker's dealers better access to wholesale credit, the paper added.

In late December, the U.S. government converted $5.5 billion of its preferred shares in Ally Financial into common stock, increasing its stake to 74 percent and laying the groundwork for exiting its investment.

General Motors was not immediately available for comment outside of normal U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj in Bangalore; Editing by David Cowell)