Smaller Banks Lending Again
Washington — Smaller banks have sharply stepped up lending for commercial real estate development and business expansion, an important sign that the economy is shedding the last vestiges of the Great Recession. These loans underwritten by smaller banks — regional banks with assets below $50 billion and community banks with assets below $10 billion — are growing almost twice as fast as those underwritten by the biggest banks. The...
GE to Restructure Lending Business
New York — General Electric is leaving the lending business, a major source of both profit and risk, as it continues to whittle its focus down to an industrial core. The company said Friday that it will sell most of its GE Capital assets over the next two years, shedding businesses in a sector where it has had a tough time generating acceptable returns. GE also plans to repurchase as much as $50 billion of its own stock. Shares of GE...
