WSJ Report Suggests GE Capital Looking to Spin Off Retail Lending Unit

Shares of

are trading up almost 1.5 percent Friday morning following a

suggesting the company could be looking to spin off one of its most important units from the Capital segment, the Retail Lending branch. The credit-card unit made up nearly 11 percent of sales for the GE Capital segment as of FY12, offering cards to some 50+ million consumers in the US. Profits to the Retail Lending unit made up more than 14 percent of total profit to the Capital unit. Reports suggest discussion for an IPO of the unit, slated for as early as 2014, are already underway. Bankers named in the talks were JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. With about a half hour left in the pre-market session Friday, General Electric shares last traded around $23.40.