Goldman Sachs share price down, acquires GE Capital Bank’s online platform

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has become the latest bank to pick up a piece of General Electrics finance operations as the New York firm agreed on Thursday to buy GE Capital Bank’s online deposit platform and about $16 billion in deposits.

The terms of the deal, which will give the largest US investment bank a more reliable source of funding to help better withstand future shocks, were not disclosed but The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the price Goldman paid was immaterial to the company.

The lender will acquire GE Capital Banks online deposit platform, including about $8 billion in online deposit accounts and $8 billion in certificates of deposit bought through brokerages. Although the acquisition is relatively small, given Goldmans $860 billion worth of assets, it marks the latest step in a historic transformation of the investment bank that has been forced by regulators to adopt typical universal banking practices since the 2008 financial crisis.

The transaction will help Goldman advance its strategy of becoming less reliant on capital markets, in line with regulators push for investment banks to fund more of their assets with deposits from consumers as this means of funding is less likely to disappear due to their federal insurance. Under a new liquidity standard by the Basel Committee that came into force in January, retail deposits are considered the most reliable, with a chance of up to 10% to leave within a 30-day period of turmoil. In contrast, deposits from financial clients, such as hedge funds, are considered to have a 100% chance of fleeing within that time window.

Goldman Sachs had long avoided targeting retail customers, but has recently revised that position. It is starting a new online consumer lending business, although Thursdays decision to buy the GE deposits was not linked to its consumer lending plans, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Still, the transaction presents Goldman with a bank serving about 140 000 retail customers that has no minimum for online savings accounts, a clear u-turn for the lender whose clientele previously consisted of institutions and wealthy individuals. Goldman held $89.1 billion of deposits as of end-June, more than three times the amount it had at the end of 2008.

As for General Electric, the transaction is the latest step in achieving its goal to sell about $200 billion worth of finance assets by the end of next year that would allow it to shed GE Capitals designation of a “systemically important financial institution” which has brought it under the Federal Reserves strictest regulations. In July, the company received a temporary reprieve from having to comply with the toughest requirements after it announced plans to significantly scale back its operations. It hopes to escape the designation next year.

Thursdays deal comes only a few days after General Electric said it agreed to sell its healthcare finance unit to Capital One Financial Corp for about $9 billion, which brought the total finance assets sold by GE so far this year to $78 billion, helping it near its 2015 target of $100 billion.

The conglomerate said on Tuesday it will keep the financing businesses connected to its industrial operations but still has to sell most of its international and US commercial lending operations, as well as its global consumer business. It added that after it sells GE Capital Banks deposit platform, it will wind down its remaining operations.

Investors have urged General Electric to return to its industrial roots as tougher regulatory oversight and difficult market conditions have weighed on margins, and GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt addressed those calls in April when he said the company would dispose of most of its financial services operations. GE agreed the same month to sell $26.5 billion worth of real estate assets to Blackstone Group LP, Wells Fargo & Co and other buyers, and in June it agreed to sell its private equity lending unit for $12 billion to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

General Electric Co settled 0.27% lower at $25.79 per share in New York on Thursday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc inched down 0.19% to $200.74, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.46% and valuing the investment bank at $86.89 billion. According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Goldman Sachs have a median target of $217.00, with a high estimate of $245.00 and a low estimate of $149.00. The median estimate represents an 8.10% increase from the last price of $200.74.