Australian bank fees cases resonate with KKR

KKR will cap GE Capital Australia's liability for excess bank fees charged over many years, should class actions succeed and the investment house buys GE's unwanted consumer finance arm.

The level at which this cap applies is not known but is a helpful feature of KKR's offer for one side of the finance arms of General Electric.

One new fee class action emerged during the sales process for the business, only one of many unfolding threats to GE's local wellbeing.

Reserve Bank of Australia rumblings on tinkering with interchange fees is another factor - a large one.

GE worked over recent years to progress an often low-income customer base from standard or 'gold' cards along to 'platinum' cards attracting the best value interchange fees.

GE's success at this is a matter well on the mind of RBA boffins and KKR will have to manage the consequences.

The change of ownership must be a topic GE's leaders plan to talk about when briefing out the March 2015 quarter, so final contracts may only be days away.