GE Money Bank Logo

GE Money Bank grew out of General Electric’s finance business during the Great Depression. In 1932, GE created General Electric Contracts Corporation to finance purchases of its appliances when consumer credit was hard to access. The installment model helped boost sales, and in 1942, GE expanded the unit to include industrial and commercial finance.

In 1970, GE introduced its first corporate credit card, an early private-label card tied to retail partners. While Citibank and American Express built broad consumer credit businesses, GE focused on financing at the point of purchase through stores. Under Jack Welch, GE Capital expanded through acquisitions. It became a major profit engine for General Electric, with assets above $160 billion by 1995.

In the 1990s, GE Capital bought consumer finance operations in Japan, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Ireland. Bank Prokredit in Switzerland came under GE’s control in 1998 and was merged with Bank Aufina in 2006 as GE Money Bank. In the early 2000s, GE Consumer Finance was rebranded as GE Money, covering savings, mortgages, credit cards, and consumer loans.

GE Money bought U.S. mortgage lender WMC Mortgage in 2004, but shut it down in late 2007 after the subprime mortgage crisis. The 2008 financial crisis weakened GE Capital, and GE Capital Bank in Leeds was sold to Santander Cards UK in 2009. In 2011, the U.S. retail banking unit became GE Capital Retail Bank. In 2014, GE moved to separate the business through the IPO of Synchrony Financial, which became the leading U.S. private label credit card provider after leaving GE.