GE may step up lending

Steve Sargent, chief executive of GE Capital in Australia, told The Australian newspaper that the financier planned to step up lending to mid-range corporates in sectors in which the major traditional banks were not well represented.

"There's a lot of refinancing out there. My guess is that we are going to be in an environment where there is a shortage of capital for quite some time," Sargent told The Australian.

He nominated real estate and energy as two industry sectors of interest.

Sargent told the newspaper that as foreign banks reduced their activity in Australia to concentrate on home markets, the structure of syndicated loans to corporates would change.

"What I'm seeing is that there are a few (lending) portfolios out there that are for sale, they are portfolios of credit," he said.

"I think at the prices that they (banks) would get, they would have to take a haircut on the assets.

"I don't think we will see too many people take their capital out of here, but we will see few reinvesting their capital.

"For us it's an important market. Most of our businesses play where the banks are not strong or aren't at all."