US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says troubled lender GMAC will receive additional financial support from the government.

"It's likely, again, that GMAC will need to take additional capital from the government and we'll be prepared to provide that," Geithner said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.

Geithner made the remarks a day after the Treasury said GMAC, the former financing arm of automaker General Motors, needs to raise $11.5 billion in capital.

Results of 'stress tests' released on Thursday showed that 10 of America's 19 largest banks need a total of $74.6 billion in new capital to boost their cash reserves in the event of a deeper economic slump.

Geithner said there were signs that the economic downturn was coming to an end. However, he warned that there was still 'a long way to go' before the world's largest economy would have a full recovery.

The Treasury has already provided $6 billion in aid to GMAC, which is a vital provider of loans for buyers of US-made cars.

GMAC spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said the expected aid from the government was separate from any capital it would need to raise under the stress tests' results.

AKM/MMA