GE, Santander Close $1.5B Business Swap

General Electric (GE Quote) on Thursday wrapped up a $1.5 billion deal with Banco Santander (STD Quote), swapping five consumer finance businesses across Western Europe in exchange for an Italian corporate bank.

The deal for Interbanca represents GE's belief in the potential for higher returns in commercial finance than in the consumer market, says Will Spiers, a GE spokesman in Europe.

"GE finds this an attractive way to reposition the portfolio -- shift from retail to commercial finance," Spiers wrote in a follow-up email. "We're open to more transactions of this nature." ...