Credit growth may be subdued at present but for select lenders overall trading conditions are pretty favourable. One of those lenders, GE Capital, provided a taste of trends in its business at an industry lunch in Melbourne yesterday.Skander Malcolm, chief executive officer of GE Capital for Australia and New Zealand, told the lunch that "originations", meaning new loans, "are the best we've seen in a long time". He suggested that GE's experience was at odds with the sluggish growth reported in data published by APRA and other statistical agencies.Malcolm said: "I don't think I've ever seen prices as good as I've seen it now."  He said that while GE's research, which he assumed was common to all firms' research, showed that borrowers want the lowest-priced product, in fact consumers "tend to buy value", including at the higher price points (or interest rates) that are typically GE's market niche.Malcolm was speaking as part of a panel discussion of retail financial services hosted by Australian Banking & Finance yesterday.  GE remains mindful, however, of the difficulty it may face funding its activities.  Malcolm said GE, in its "scenario planning", was attaching a "high probability of liquidity constraints ... liquidity is going to be difficult. Sovereign risk is too real."That's why we got out of certain markets", he said in a clear reference to GE's closure of its floor plan financing business for motor dealers and the partial sale and run off of its home loan business - decisions taken in late 2008.Malcolm compared GE's funding needs in Australia (with around $20 billion in assets) with that of Westpac, with $250 billion in home loan assets alone. "That's going to be tough to fund," he said.In an echo of remarks made by the new CEO of ME Bank on Wednesday, Malcolm said smaller banks have to make careful choices on their strategic options."Taking on major banks is going to be difficult. So the way to be a specialist is to look at what I am good at and pick them off."