GE Capital has won approval by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to have its status as a non-bank Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) ”“ also known as “too big to fail” ”” removed.
GE Capital received the SIFI label in 2013, but after selling about $156 billion of a planned $180 billion in assets since April 2015, the FSOC agreed with the company”™s request, filed on March 31, to have the designation removed.
“The Council will remove a designation when that company no longer poses risks to U.S. financial stability,” remarked Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The Council follows the facts: When it identifies a company that could threaten financial stability, it acts; when those risks change, the Council also acts.”
“This decision is a result of the transformation of GE Capital into a smaller, safer financial services company that meaningfully contributes to the success of GE”™s industrial businesses,” GE Capital CEO Keith Sherin said. “We will continue to re-evaluate our capital requirements to reflect our reduced risk profile and right-size our organization as we go forward.”
Parent General Electric has been refocusing its efforts on technology and manufacturing over the past several months. It is in the midst of relocating its U.S. headquarters from Fairfield to Boston.
