GE says quitting Japan consumer lending an option

General Electric Co said on Thursday it is considering pulling out of the consumer lending business in Japan, as tighter regulation has crimped profits across the industry, but it said nothing has been decided yet.

Yoshiaki Fujimori, GE's senior vice-president, said at a news conference the company would concentrate its financing business on credit cards and housing loans, and that it was mulling various options for its consumer lending unit, known as Lake.

"In terms of our plans for Lake, recently the economic environment and regulations have changed, so we are now considering how to deal with those changes," Fujimori said. "We are considering all options, including (pulling out), but nothing has been decided at the moment."

The Financial Times reported earlier this month that GE has sounded out financial institutions about acquiring or taking a stake in Lake. Those efforts to sell or find investors are still at an early stage, the paper said.

GE has launched a credit card tie-up with American Express Co to target young, affluent Japanese, and Fujimori said he expects future growth to come from credit cards as well as housing loans.

The company has closed 60 percent of its 115 manned personal loan branches in Japan and plans to cut up to 400 jobs by the end of this year as stricter regulations have eaten into profits.

Reuters