The New York Times said in a report on General Electric’s announcement that it will sell off most of GE Capital that “it’s the end of an era,”, according to a professor of finance and asset management at Columbia Business School.

The Times notes that GE said when it announced the decision, “The business model for large, wholesale-funded financial companies has changed, making it increasingly difficult to generate acceptable returns going forward.”

With GE’s decision to throw in the towel on financial services, others on Wall Street are suggesting that regulator have gone too far, the Times said. GE Capital’s operations may survive and even prosper in the hands of new owners, but few have GE’s Resources to provide loans in the event of another crisis, the Times notes.

To view the full The New York Times report, click here.