GE Money builds its Asian presence
A BusinessWeek article ("GE Money Heads East", 11/7/05) documents the rapid growth, through acquisitions, of General Electric's Money (formerly Consumer Finance) division. That division has been buying assets in the US and Europe left and right over the past five years, including personal loan companies, credit card divisions of retailers (from Dillard's to IKEA), and auto loan lenders.
But in Asia, where growth is strong and demand for consumer finance skyrocketing, GE was a late entrant, behind big banks like Citigroup and HBSC. But it moving fast, concentrating on small customers and knocking aside small, local lenders. The article quotes GE Money CEO David Nissen as saying "We are trying to move our center of gravity to Asia." And Asian Pacific countries are making up nearly 25% of all GE consumer finance earnings this year.
Among the expansion moves cited in the article and that we've found elsewhere:
- In India, GE grew to be the #2 credit card company in a 50/50 partnership the Sate Bank of India.
- In South Korea, it bought a major stake last year in Hyundai Capital, the finance company for Hyundai Motors.
- In China, bought a piece of Shendai Bank, from which it is ramping up a credit card operation.
- In Thailand, GE is involves in auto loans, credit cards, cash loans, and mortgages.
- In Singapore, in cooperation with SingPost, has established a series of mini-offices for uncollateralized personal loans
- In Japan, has acquired a number of credit card and personal finance companies.
- In Australia, has acquired five auto lending, mortgage, and credit card firms, including the Wizard Home Loans brand, Australia's largest non-bank lender.
- In the Philippines, GE acquired a majority share of Keppel Bank in October.
The article points out that small personal loans are the biggest source of growth for the company.
Ultimately, GE sees itself becoming a financial supermarket in Asia that offers services ranging from plain-vanilla bank accounts to sophisticated investments such as insurance and securities. But where GE has struck gold first is the market for credit cards and short-term unsecured cash loans in amounts up to $10,000. A staple among consumers in Japan -- where GE fine-tuned its business model -- unsecured loans are finding a following elsewhere in Asia for those who prefer borrowed cash to plastic.
6:16:22 PM 
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