By Kate Linebaugh, The Wall Street Journal
General Electric Co. is preparing to spin off one of its most important financial assets—the unit that issues store credit cards for 55 million Americans—as it retreats from one of the high-growth businesses that defined the modern conglomerate.
The decision to divest the business, amid concerns about the company's exposure to banking, marks an important moment in the evolution of GE and the country's three-decade long consumer credit boom. GE Capital expanded to the point that its portfolio of loans and other assets now would rank it as the country's fifth-largest commercial bank.
Preliminary work to separate the business through an initial public offering is under way, according to people familiar with the matter.
Keep reading: GE Set to Exit Retail Lending – Yahoo! Finance.
