G.E. to Retreat From Finance in Post-Crisis Reorganization
Source: New York Times
General Electric plans to sell off most of its finance arm over the next two years, redefining the multinational conglomerate as it seeks to complete a transformation begun amid the tumult of the financial crisis.
In addition to huge planned sales of assets outlined by the company on Friday, G.E. will take other significant steps, including bringing back about $36 billion in cash that now resides overseas.
Rapidly shrinking the finance arm, GE Capital once the most powerful driver of the companys earnings until it rocked the parent company after the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008 will erase one of the most prominent legacies of G.E.s former chief executive, Jack Welch.
But it could also release the company from one of its biggest burdens: strict regulatory requirements that come with GE Capitals being regarded as a financial institution that is too big to fail.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/business/dealbook/general-electric-to-sell-bulk-of-its-finance-unit.html