GE Commercial Finance Expands Lending Business

GE Commercial Finance combined its asset-based lending, cash flow lending and structured finance platform into one corporate lending group.

GE Commercial Finance is now offering structured leasing, tax-advantaged financing, securitization, project financing, junior secured and second-lien loans, equity capital and interest-rate management after it combined its asset-based lending, cash flow lending and structured finance platform into one corporate lending group. Tom Quindlen is the president and ceo and Jim Kelly is the general manager of North America.

“We found our customers looking for more and you have to differentiate yourself,” Quindlen said. “To be more competitive we wanted the front end to have more value to offer.”

In the first quarter, the group booked $3 billion in new business, including the $1.1 billion refinancing for US Airways. It has also committed, with Royal Bank of Scotland, to provide $2.6 billion to back the sale of 440,000 acres of forest by International Paper to Resource Management Service (RMS).

In July, Jeff Immelt, ceo, combined the Corporate Lending Group, which offered ABL and restructuring financing, with the Commercial Industrial Finance business, which offered structured products. In January, Quindlen brought over Jen VanBelle, managing director, GE Capital Markets, from Commercial Finance to be his capital markets leader on the management team. The management team is in place, but Quindlen anticipates making hires in other areas.