Check the sofa?

Ally could use an ally.

Troubled lender Ally Financial is trolling for $1 billion in funds to shore up its balance sheet in order to pass muster with federal regulators.

Taxpayer-owned Ally was the only one out of 18 large financial institutions that failed to get a thumbs-up from the most recent Federal Reserve "stress test" in April.

The extra capital the government is requiring is intended to help Ally withstand unexpected jolts to the system and avoid a repeat of its financial crisis in 2008.

Ally still owes taxpayers more than $11 billion of its $17.2 billion crisis-era bailout, the second-largest outstanding TARP loan balance.

Ally's plans follow a filing last month warning that it was considering a "number of alternatives" to resolve its shortfalls with the Fed, including an offer of "common stock."

One tactic Ally is considering is a private sale of shares to a few dozen investors.

Such a deal could occur as early as next week, sources told The Post.

An Ally spokeswoman declined to comment on the firm's plans, first reported by CNBC.

Dogging Ally is its mortgage subsidiary ResCap, which has been mired in bankruptcy for more than a year following the subprime-mortgage meltdown.

Ally had hoped that placing the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy would allow it to repay its government debts by 2014 and put its legacy problems behind it.

But Rescap creditors balked and demanded that parent Ally kick in more for the restructuring.

Two months ago, Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved a settlement that saw Ally fork over $2.1 billion to ResCap to help it resolve creditor debts.

Cerberus Capital Management — one of the firms originally involved in taking Ally predecessor GMAC private — is expected to purchase shares, according to CNBC.

Ally CEO Michael Carpenter has often butted heads with government officials, who are eager to recoup the money extended to the firm during the height of the financial crisis. Uncle Sam still holds a 74 percent stake in Ally.

Carpenter had hoped to complete an initial public offering to pay back the government, but the uncertainty surrounding ResCap put that plan on hold.