Ally Financial says has overcome GM deal loss

* 2nd-qtr adj profit/shr $0.46 vs est $0.45

* Expects 2015 loan originations in high $30 bln range

* Shares up 4.8 pct (Adds CFO, analyst comment, share movement, background)

By Neha Dimri

July 28 (Reuters) - Ally Financial Inc, the largest U.S. auto lender, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and record U.S. auto sales boosted lending, making up for a loss of an exclusive leasing deal with General Motors Co .

Shares of Ally were up 4.8 percent at $22.59 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company has been trying to boost its market share by financing cars made by Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co Ltd after GM replaced Ally as the exclusive lessor for Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in February.

The company has fully overcome the loss of GM's lease business, which accounted for less than half of the company's total loans for the first time in Ally's history, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Halmy said on a conference call.

Easy availability of auto loans and cheap gas prices also pushed U.S. auto sales in May to their strongest pace in a decade, helping auto lenders boost their business.

"We are positive on this quarter's growth, which should raise investor confidence about Ally's ability to maintain growth despite the GM change," Jefferies analysts said in a note.

Total auto loans made by Ally were relatively flat at $10.8 billion from a year earlier. However, Ally's loan originations, excluding GM's business, rose 36 percent during the quarter, helped by a surge in financing for Chrysler cars.

The company also forecast loan originations in the high $30 billion range for the full year.

Ally has became the preferred financing source for Mitsubishi Motors in April and British luxury sports carmaker Aston Martin, a month after.

The company's net income fell 44 percent to $182 million. On a per share basis, it reported a loss of $2.22.

On an adjusted basis, Ally earned 46 cents per share, beating analysts' estimate of 45 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Up to Monday's close, Ally's stock had lost about 10 percent this year since General Motors announced on Jan. 9 that it planned to replace Ally with its in-house financing arm.

(Reporting by Neha Dimri in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)