Reports from Japan have linked Japan’s Shinsei Bank with GE’s Asia Pacific consumer finance business lines.
Earlier this year the US conglomerete announced its intention to divest most of its finance units as part of a restructuring. GE Capital’s Japanese commercial finance operations are part of the sale.
The Japanese lender has a track record with GE that might give it the upper hand in any transactions. In 2008 Shinsei bought GE’s Japanese consumer finance operation for $5.4 billion. Shinsei was also among the bidders for Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong consumer finance unit.
Incoming President of Shinsei, Hideyuki Kudo, said the bank was also on the look out for opportunities to get into consumer finance in emerging markets, “We are looking at growing economies, for instance Vietnam and China,” he said. “We might do it on our own or team up with others.”
