GE Capital Files Request to Drop SIFI Status



GE filed a request to the Financial Stability Oversight Council for rescission of GE Capital‘s designation as a non-bank systemically important financial institution.

In the last year, GE Capital has largely transformed itself, primarily through the sale or split-off of most of its legacy financial services businesses. By filing, GE believes it has made enough progress to demonstrate that it has significantly reduced its risk profile and is less interconnected to the financial system. The request outlines the changes and dispositions GE Capital has made since being designated as a SIFI in 2013 and, in particular, since GE announced last April that it would become a more focused digital industrial company by dramatically reducing the size of GE Capital.

“Our submission details the complete transformation of GE Capital. Our plan to change our business model, shrink the company and reduce our risk profile has been successful,” said Keith Sherin, GE Capital chairman and CEO. “We have completed over 80% of our projected asset reductions, exited leveraged lending and U.S. consumer lending, exited nearly all middle market lending, reduced real estate debt by more than 75% and real estate equity by 100% and reduced outstanding commercial paper almost 90%.

“We believe GE Capital no longer meets the criteria to be designated as a SIFI and we look forward to working cooperatively and constructively with the FSOC through the rescission process,” said Sherin.

Since last April, GE Capital has reduced its assets 52%, from $549 billion to $265 billion. Of the remaining $265 billion in assets $77 billion are cash and cash-like investments, $36 billion are assets related to run-off U.S. insurance activities and $153 billion are non-cash, non-insurance related assets.

Financing receivables are down 74%, from $277 billion to $72 billion. Loans secured by real estate are down 77%, from $72 billion to $17 billion.

Loans to consumers are down 95%, from $72 billion to $4 billion. In the U.S., GE Capital has whittled its loans to consumers down to zero.

Meanwhile, cash and cash-like investments are up 35%, from $57 billion to $77 billion. Additionally, GE Capital has materially reduced its use of short-term and securitization funding with commercial paper, down 88% from $43 billion outstanding to $5 billion. Once the top issuer of U.S. CP, GE Capital’s CP now represents less than one-tenth of 1% of the market.

It should also be noted that securitization funding is down 90%, from $30 billion to $3 billion.

In the next four years, GE Capital does not plan to issue any incremental debt, and GE will assume or guarantee all of GE Capital’s unsecured debt.

Through the completed split-off of Synchrony Financial, GE Capital has exited one of its U.S. bank charters. Regulatory approval has been granted for the sale of its U.S. deposit business to Goldman Sachs, which is to be completed by April 30. After that, GE Capital will no longer own any banks with deposits insured by the FDIC.

Through numerous dispositions, including the Synchrony Financial split-off, GE Capital has exited all leveraged lending, all consumer lending in the U.S., most consumer lending in the E.U., and nearly all middle market lending and commercial real estate financing globally.

GE Capital’s regulated operations are now centered in Europe, and GE Capital consolidated its non-U.S. operations into GE Capital International Holding.


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