GE sells $3.7 billion UK home loan portfolio to Kensington Mortgage

By Richa Naidu

(Reuters) - General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) said on Wednesday it had sold a $3.7 billion portfolio of loans from its British home lending business to private equity-backed Kensington Mortgage Co Ltd as it continues to shrink its financing arm, GE Capital.

The deal, GE's third loan portfolio sale this year, nearly halves the size of the company's UK home lending business to less than $7 billion, GE Capital Chief Executive Keith Sherin said in a statement.

GE Capital once accounted for almost half of GE's profit. However, the unit's rising funding costs nearly sank the entire company during the 2008 financial crisis.

Kensington Mortgage is controlled by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (NYSE: BX) and TPG Special Situation Partners.

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