GE, Banco Santander reach European asset deal

AP ONLINE

Posted: 2008-06-02 07:20:00

NEW YORK (AP) _ General Electric Co. said Monday it completed a definitive agreement to exchange European banking assets with Banco Santander SA.

As part of the deal, GE's commercial finance unit will take over control of Interbanca, an Italian commercial bank Santander acquired as part of a consortium that recently purchased ABN Amro.

Santander will take over GE Money's businesses in Germany, Finland and Austria, its cards and auto lending businesses in the United Kingdom and its cards business in Ireland.

Each company is receiving operations that are valued at about 1 billion euros ($1.56 billion).

The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter.