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GE Capital was the
financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...
division of
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one division of the company remained, GE Energy Financial Services, which was transferred to GE Vernova when General Electric was broken up.


Overview

On July 8, 2013, the Financial Stability Oversight Council designated GE Capital as a "
systemically important financial institution A systemically important financial institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis. They are colloquially referred to as "too big to fail". As the 2008 financial cri ...
", which makes it subject to oversight by the Federal Reserve. In 2014, GE Capital had 35,000+ employees worldwide, operating in more than 40 countries, with total assets of US$499 billion. It was rated AA+ with stable outlook by S&P in 2012. GE Capital's subsidiaries also operated under the GE Money brand.


Restructuring plan

On April 10, 2015, Jeffrey R. Immelt, the CEO of
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, announced that GE would sell most of GE Capital over the next two years. The following areas were sold: *GE Capital Sponsor Finance was sold to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a Japanese multinational banking financial services institution owned by the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which is also known as the SMBC Group. It is headquartered in the same building as SMBC Group in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. ...
*GE Capital Real Estate was sold to
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
and
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
. *The majority of GE Commercial Lending & Leasing was sold to Wells Fargo. Operations in Germany and France were sold to Crédit Mutuel. Operations in Australia were sold to
Sankaty Advisors Bain Capital, LP is an American private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life scie ...
. * Mubadala GE Capital, a joint venture with Mubadala Development Company, was sold to MidCap Financial, a portfolio company of
Apollo Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American Asset Management, asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including ...
. * GE Capital Rail Services was sold to First Union Rail, a subsidiary of
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
, and Marmon Group *GE Capital Bank was sold to
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
. *GE Healthcare Finance Services was sold to
Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...
. *GE Capital Equity was sold to Ardian. *GE Capital Transportation Finance was sold to BMO Financial Group. *GE Capital Corporate Finance ― Aircraft was sold to Global Jet Capital, a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, the
Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
and GSO Capital Partners. *GE Capital's Mexican equipment lending and leasing operations were sold to Linzor Capital Partners. * GE Trailer Fleet Services was sold to Element Financial and Arval. *GE Capital's Japanese capital finance, fleet service and vendor finance businesses were sold to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group *GE Capital's American restaurant finance operations were sold to First Horizon National Corporation, Wintrust Financial and Sterling Bancorp. Its hotel franchise operations were sold to Western Alliance Bancorp. * GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) was sold to AerCap in 2021. *Electric Insurance Company was sold to RiverStone International in 2024.


Current operations

GE Energy Financial Services provides commercial lending and leasing, as well as a range of financial services for
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
,
energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
, and support for GE's industrial business units.


Former operations


Australia

In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, the GE Money brand encompassed the GE Consumer Finance and GE Capital Finance businesses. The company provided car, boat, personal and consolidation
loans In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...
, credit cards, mortgages and
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
. In May 2002, GE purchased the Australian Guarantee Corporation (AGC) business from
Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
, and as a result, AGC Automotive Finance became GE Automotive Finance (GE Auto), and former retail finance competitor, AGC Creditline, became known as GE CreditLine. GE Consumer Finance controlled most credit cards and loans and has a strategic partnership with
Coles Group Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
to operate the Coles Group Source MasterCard. GE Consumer Finance governs the GE Creditline, GO MasterCard, gem Visa and Buyer's Edge cards which all offer interest-free terms at participating retailers. GE Finance also had strategic financial relations with Myer, Australia's largest department store. In 2006 and 2007 Myer signed contracts with GE to issue and govern both the new Myer Card and the Myer Visa Card. GE was also the issuer of the old red ColesMyer card which is no longer an acceptable method of payment of Myer stores, this is following the decision of Myer being disenfranchised from the Coles Myer Group. In 2004, GE Capital Finance purchased the Wizard Home Loans business. On 24 October 2008, GE Money announced that it would cease offering motor finance in Australia and New Zealand. This move proved damaging to GE aligned dealerships who have been given 60 days to find an alternate financier to provide floorplan finance. GE Money also announced that it will be pulling out of the mortgage industry and no longer providing mortgages other than those sold under the Wizard Brand. In December 2008, GE Money announced it was in advanced talks with the
National Australia Bank National Australia Bank Limited (abbreviated NAB, branded and stylised as nab) is one of the four largest Banking in Australia, financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "Big Four (banking), The Big Four") in terms of mar ...
to sell the Wizard brand. Ultimately, Wizard was bought by the
Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...
. In 2015, GE Capital sold its Australian and New Zealand business to a consortium led by
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
, KKR and Värde Partners. The business was renamed Latitude Financial Services with Sean Morrissey appointed as its new CEO.


Austria

Austria's GE Money (formerly GE Capital Bank) was founded in 1994 after the successful acquisition and merger of Mercurbank and AVABANK. Today, it is one of Austria's leading consumer and auto finance businesses and a market leader in retail sales financing. Based in Vienna, with a network of branches throughout the country, the business provides a variety of innovative financial services including auto lending, private lending, sales finance and third party personal lending. The primary focus is on consumers, customers and business partners, such as car dealers, retailers and loan brokers. The Austrian division was purchased, along with the German, Finnish and British store card operations of GE Money, by the Santander Group in January 2009.


Canada

GE Money Canada provided private label credit card and MasterCard card programs to consumers and lending options for retailers in key industries across the country. GE Money-Canada also was a provider of alternative residential mortgages and patient financing through its CareCredit unit. It was part of the Synchrony Financial spinoff in 2014.


Czech Republic

GE Money Bank (formerly GE Capital Bank) was a significant institution in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1997, after the acquisition of Agrobanka bank as GE Capital Bank. In the year 2000, it changed the name to GE Money Bank. It went through an IPO in 2016 and operates under the new name of Moneta Money Bank. It is a full-service bank with an extensive network of branches and ATMs. Its services focus both on retail clients and small and medium-sized enterprises. Its headquarters are located in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. Its call center operates from
Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
.


Denmark

GE Money Bank Denmark (previously GE Capital Bank Denmark) offered credit cards, loans and other financial solutions. Brand names included Acceptcard, Morecard and E-lån. In 2014, GE Capital sold its Scandinavian operations to Santander.


France

GE Money Bank France is born from the acquisition by GE of Crédit de l'Est and SOVAC in 1995. It provides real-estate mortgages and auto loans. GE Capital sold GE Money Bank France to
Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Qua ...
in 2016.


Hong Kong

GE Capital was incorporated as a Restricted License Bank in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. Its major focus was in mortgages (homes and automobile) and personal loans. GE Capital sold its Hong Kong operations to
Standard Chartered Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in th ...
.


Hungary

''Budapest Bank'', was established in 1987 as one of the first commercial banks when the
two-tier banking system A single-tier banking system is a policy framework under which all credit institutions coexist without distinction about the quality of their liabilities, or in other words, there is no distinction between central bank money and broad money. This ...
was created in Hungary. Since 1995, GE (General Electric Company) as owner provided solid background for the bank. Budapest Bank offered a full range of financial and banking services for consumers and small and medium-sized businesses. Budapest Bank was sold to MFB in 2014.


India

GE had more than 118 branches in India as of July 2006. Most of these are in the southern states. There were branches in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem Saradha, Trichy, Madurai, Tanjore, Palaghat, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Rajamundhry, Kakinada, Vizag, Vijaywada, Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaun. GE was the first BPO's in Hyderabad. GE Capital sold its Indian housing finance business to Magma Fincorp; in 2012, it sold the remains loan portfolio to clix capital, and exited the credit card joint venture SBI Card with
State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...
, leaving SBI in place


Italy

In 2008, GE Capital acquired Interbanca, a merchant banking firm from
Banco Santander Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group ( , , ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Santander, with operative offices in Madrid. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres ...
, in exchange for GE Capital businesses in Germany, Finland, Austria, and the UK. In May 2015, GE appointed
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
to sell the bank, then had a net assets of over . In 2016, Banca IFIS acquired Interbanca for €160 million, with an obligation to repay the inter-company debt to GE.


Ireland

GE Money Ireland was part of the European operations of GE Consumer Finance. In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, GE Money provided specialised financing and services such as
leasing A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
,
hire purchase A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...
,
mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pur ...
and
loans In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...
to businesses and individuals across the country. With headquarters in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, GE Money serviced its
customers In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product, or an idea, obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or an e ...
through regional
sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...
centres and a
dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...
and partner network. GE sold its Irish loan portfolio to Pepper Home Loans in 2012.


Latvia

GE Money Bank Latvia was a universal bank owned by GE in
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
(merged from the former BTB bank and GE Money financial company), offering loan and deposit products to both private and legal entities. It was acquired by Otkritie FC Bank in 2011.


Japan

is part of the Japanese operation of GE Consumer Finance. From April 2005, it began to provide GE Money brand in Japan. In 2008, GE was crowned In-House of the Year - Japan In-House Lawyer of the Year by the ''2008 ALB Japan Law Awards''. The Japanese operation was sold to
Shinsei Bank is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Holdings, SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo, Chuo, ...
in 2008.


Netherlands

GE Artesia Bank, a part of GE Capitals subsidiary GE Commercial Finance, offered banking services to
High-net-worth individual In the financial services industry, a high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a person who maintains liquid assets at or above a certain threshold. Typically the criterion is that the person's financial assets (excluding their primary residence) are ...
s as well as corporates in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. It provided capital finance, long-term finance, leasing and finance for specific international trade transactions. It closed in 2015.


New Zealand

In 2002, GE Finance purchased Australian Guarantee Corporation's
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
-based finance company to create the AGC Creditline Card (now GEM Visa Card), which provides financing for retailers. In 2006 GE Money New Zealand purchased Pacific Retail Finance (PRF), New Zealand's largest personal consumer finance company, and the mortgage assets of Superbank, a supermarket-based banking system. On 24 October 2008, GE Money announced that it was pulling out of the
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
vehicle finance market, with the loss of 80 staff. It attributed this decision to the
credit crunch A credit crunch (a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit crunch generally ...
. On 15 December 2008, GE Money announced it would no longer be offering home loans through Wizard Home Loans and was seeking a buyer. In 2015, GE Capital sold its Australian and New Zealand business to a consortium led by
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...
, and Värde Partners.


Norway

GE Money Bank Norge was a division of the Stockholm-based Swedish subsidiary GE Capital AB. It was a leading provider of consumer finance products in Norway with more than 300,000 clients and total lending of NOK 5 billion, second only to the major domestic bank DnB NOR. It was the second bank in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
to offer US style credit cards with zero annual/monthly fee and including a grace period, after Bankia Bank ASA. In the eighteen months following the launch of GE MasterCard in June 2001, the market increased to more than 100,000 US style credit cards. Before these cards, Norwegian banks only offered annual fee cards or cards with no interest free grace period. In 2014, GE Capital sold its Scandinavian operations to Santander.


Philippines

GE Money, in an effort to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, acquired a majority stake in the now-defunct Keppel Bank Philippines which acquired what was formerly the Banco Monte De Piedad, the Philippines' first savings bank, established under Spanish era. The acquisition was finalized on December 20, 2005 after the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the purchase on December 8, 2005. The bank was renamed GE Money Bank Philippines. GE Money Bank Philippines had 31 branches all over the Philippine archipelago. GE Money Bank Philippines was acquired by BDO Unibank in 2009.


Poland

Polish ''GE Money Bank S.A.'' was primarily headquartered in
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
prior to December 31, 2009. BPH SA (Bank Przemysłowo-Handlowy) is a Polish financial institution 89% owned by GE Money Bank (prior to 2008 the largest shareholder was UniCredit), employing about 10,000 people. On 31 December 2009, Bank BPH merged with GE Money Bank Polska. After the merging of the two brands, GE's Capital's Polish headquarters are located in three cities:
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
. In October 2014, the bank's owner,
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, revealed it was considering selling the firm. In November 2016, GE completed the spin-off and merger of Bank BPH's Core Bank to Alior Bank. GE Capital retained the Bank BPH legal entity, including its mortgage business.


Romania

In Romania GE Capital has two subsidiaries: * ''GE Money'', a personal finance and leasing company. * ''GE Garanti Bank'', a bank detained by GE Capital in a joint venture with Garanti Bank International from Turkey. GE Garanti is located in Bucharest. GE Capital sold its Romanian operations to Garanti Bank in 2010.


Russia

Russian ''GE Money Bank Russia'' was located in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. It was sold to Sovcombank in 2013.


Sweden

The Swedish subsidiary was ''GE Capital Bank AB''. Based in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, the bank traded as ''GE Money Bank''. In 2014, GE Capital sold its Scandinavian operations to Santander.


Switzerland

GE Money Bank was the largest provider of small consumer credits in Switzerland. In 2006, the company partnered with
Migros Migros () is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a cooperative federation (the Federation of Migros ...
, allowing them to offer credit cards contracts through Migros. The Bank is now Cembra Money Bank and went public through an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO) in 2013.


United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, GE Money provided mortgages and secured loans through the former First National, acquired from Abbey National, and offered these through intermediaries. On 25 September 2008, it was announced that the UK Financial Services Authority had fined GE Money Home Lending £1.1 million for failings in its systems, which caused it to overcharge borrowers. It was announced on 29 March 2008 that the GE Capital Bank store cards business and managed credit card business had been acquired by the Santander Group. In 2015, GE sold its mortgage loans in sales to Kensington Mortgage (controlled by Blackstone and TPG) and to funds managed by Blackstone, TPG and CarVal Investors. Afterwards, the company ceased taking new loans.


United States

Before June 2, 2014, GE Capital Bank was made up of retail and commercial banks. The company was founded in 1988 and is based in Draper, Utah. GE Capital Retail Bank provided retail banking and credit services to consumers in the United States and internationally. It offered retail sales finance, such as private label credit card programs, installment lending, bankcards, and financial services for consumers. The company also provided retail consumer financing solutions, such as private label credit cards, dual card, flex loans, and all-tender loyalty and gift cards; It offered its products and services through dealers, retailers, associations, contractors, manufacturers, healthcare practices, and service providers. The company was formerly known as GE Money Bank and changed its name to GE Capital Retail Bank in October 2011. GE Capital Retail Bank operated as a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corporation. GE Capital Retail Bank acquired MetLife Bank from
MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...
in 2011. As of June 2, 2014, GE Capital Retail Bank is now known as Synchrony Bank. GE Capital was then composed only of the original commercial/industrial bank in the United States. GE Capital provided credit services solely to businesses and merchants in the United States, and acts as a multi-product commercial finance bank, and uses deposit Accounts to fund commercial loans and leases. The company served various industries, such as automotive, consumer electronics, flooring, healthcare, home furnishings and improvement, HVAC, elective health care, jewelry, landscaping and irrigation, luxury goods, marine, music, outdoor power equipment, pool and spa, power sports, recreation vehicle, sewing, sporting goods, travel, vacuum, and water treatment industries. GE Capital Bank was a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). GE Capital Bank was sold to
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
in 2016. GE Capital owned WMC Mortgage from 2004 to 2007. The company briefly owned
Kidder, Peabody & Company Kidder, Peabody & Co. was an American securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. The firm's operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading. The firm was sold to General Electric in 1986. Following heavy losses, it was ...
from 1986 until its sale to PaineWebber in 1994. The capital group also had its hand in broadcasting throughout the early 1990s to own radio and television stations. The company first purchased Pegasus Broadcasting, who owns three television stations WJBF-TV, WAPA-TV and KSCH-TV in 1990. The company next purchased CBS affiliate WCSC-TV in 1991, and radio stations KMOW-AM and KEYI-FM in Austin later that year. The capital quit broadcasting in stages, starting with the sale of radio stations in Austin to Mercury Broadcasting in 1991, then the sale of WJBF-TV to Spartan Communications in 1992, followed by the sales of WCSC-TV to Jefferson-Pilot Communications in 1993 and KSCH-TV to Wing Fat, through a group Channel 58 Inc. in 1994, and five years later, sold its final station WAPA-TV to LIN Television Corporation in 1999.


Legal issues

In April 1997, a lawsuit against General Electric Capital Corp was filed on behalf of the company's customers who filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. The GE Capital Corp. was accused of unfair
debt collection Debt collection or cash collection is the process of pursuing payments of money or other agreed-upon value owed to a creditor. The debtors may be individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a coll ...
practices. The
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit resulted in $100 million settlement with over 100,000 class members from 50 states. Plaintiffs claimed that the company solicited agreements from bankrupt debtors to repay their credit card debts but failed to notify bankruptcy court of the agreement. Those reaffirmation agreements legally required the debtors to continue paying off their debt in exchange for keeping the credit card, even though bankruptcy erases credit card debts. The lawsuit claimed that GE Capital was required by law to file the agreements with bankruptcy courts and did not do so. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to refund, with interest, all credit card payments made after debtors entered into the reaffirmation agreements between January 1, 1993, and June 30, 1997. GE Capital Corp. also promised to advise credit bureaus to correct any negative credit reports related to class members’ failure to repay reaffirmed debt. In June 2014, Synchrony Bank, formerly GE Capital Retail Bank, agreed to settle claims of illegal credit card practices that were filed by the federal
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...
and the
United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
by agreeing to pay $225 million to Spanish speaking consumers that were harmed by discriminatory practices and deceptive marketing. The bank was also required to pay an additional $3.5 million in civil penalties to the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund for deceptive credit card marketing.


Divestment

On March 13, 2014, GE Capital announced that it would spin its North American consumer finance division off under the new name Synchrony Financial through an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO). On July 31, 2014, Synchrony Financial raised $2.9 billion in its IPO when GE sold 125 million shares (15%) of the company. On April 10, 2015, it was announced that GE would sell most of GE Capital's commercial and consumer businesses within two years, focusing instead on its leasing businesses connected with GE's manufacturing businesses. The company reached an agreement to sell the majority of its property business to
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
and Blackstone, valued at $26.5 billion. GE Chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt, announced the plan in a letter to shareholders. It is "a big change for GE," but he said it is "right for the company." Under the plan, Immelt said that GE expects more than 90% of its earnings will be generated by its industrial businesses by 2018, up from 58% in 2014. GE Capital, meanwhile, will make up 10% of the company's revenues by 2018, down from 46% in 2001. Shareholders applauded the announcement, pushing shares in G.E. up nearly 11 percent, to $28.51, levels unseen since the financial crisis. However, the downsizing is no small matter for a company whose empire encompasses 175 countries and employs about 305,000 people. In June 2015, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced it would acquire GE Capital's private equity lending portfolio for $12 billion.


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* {{General Electric General Electric subsidiaries Financial services companies established in 1932 Companies disestablished in 2024 Financial services companies of the United States Companies based in Norwalk, Connecticut Companies in the Central European Blue Chip Index 1932 establishments in Connecticut 2024 disestablishments in Connecticut