GE announced on April 1, 2016 that it has completed the previously announced sale of its commercial lending and leasing business in Japan, including Capital Finance, Fleet Services and Vendor Finance, to Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited (SMFL), a member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. Additionally, GE announced the completion of the sale of its Mexican equipment lending and leasing business to Linzor Capital Partners. Combined, the two closings represent approximately $6.2 billion in ending net investment (ENI).
In addition to the April 1, 2016 announcement, in recent weeks GE Capital has signed and closed a variety of smaller sales globally, including an agreement announced earlier to sell GE Capital’s majority stake in Bank BPH’s Core Bank to Alior Bank. During the first quarter, GE Capital closed $42 billion of transactions, including closing $27 billion related to the North America Commercial Lending and Leasing business sale to Wells Fargo. The total closed transactions to date are now approximately $146 billion and signed agreements have reached more than $165 billion of the $200 billion in ENI that GE Capital plans to sell.
“In just less than a year since we announced our plan to divest the majority of GE Capital assets, we have made significant progress toward our goals,” said Keith Sherin, GE Capital chairman and CEO. “We wish our employees all the best as they transition to these successor employers.”
GE Capital announced the sale of its Japanese business in December, representing $5.2 billion of ENI. The buyer, SMFL, is one of Japan's largest leasing companies. It is developing business overseas, including in China, Southeast Asia and the United States.
Linzor Capital committed to purchase GE Capital’s Mexican equipment lending and leasing business in December, representing approximately $1 billion of ENI. Linzor was founded in 2006 and currently holds investments in the financial, education, industrial, retail, and consumer finance sectors across Latin America.
The April 1, 2016 closings release approximately $0.8 billion of capital. GE Capital believes it is on track to deliver about $35 billion of dividends to GE under this plan, subject to regulatory approval.
As previously announced, GE is focusing on its high-value industrial businesses and is selling most GE Capital assets. GE will retain the financing verticals that relate directly to GE’s industrial businesses.
Earlier in the week, GE announced that as it continues to execute the transformation of GE Capital into a smaller, more focused financial services firm, it filed its request to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) for rescission of GE Capital’s designation as a nonbank Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI).