GE Money Acquires 25.4% Strategic Interest in Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya

GE Money, the consumer finance unit of the General Electric Company, announced today it has reached an agreement to acquire a 25.4% interest (on a fully diluted basis) in the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) for US$600 million. The transaction is subject to shareholder approvals.

Mr. Yoshiaki Fujimori, President and CEO for GE Money Asia, said, “This partnership will further strengthen the Thai financial market by contributing to economic growth and offering more competitive options for both Thai consumer and commercial customers. The combination of BAY’s performance history and local banking experience and GE’s global expertise and business management processes will help fulfill our shared vision to become Thailand’s ‘bank of choice’ and to drive sound growth for the future.”

Established in 1945, BAY is the 6th largest bank in Thailand in terms of assets and loans, with 500 branches, 4 million deposit accounts and 50 thousand commercial accounts adding up to $10+ billion in Net Earning Assets and $13 billion in deposits. It offers a broad range of banking and financial services to Thai consumers and businesses nationwide.

BAY and GE Money have been Joint Venture partners since 2001, successfully managing the growth of the Krungsriayudhya Card Company Ltd, offering credit cards and personal loans to Thai consumers. The Joint Venture serves 700,000 card customers and held total assets of $339 million in 2005, generating $61 million in revenues.

GE Money has achieved solid growth since entering the Thai non-banking services sector 10 years ago. Today it offers a diversified portfolio of financial products and services including auto finance, credit cards, mortgage, deposits, sales finance, personal loans, and credit insurance. GE Money is a market leader in auto finance and is the largest provider of credit cards in Thailand. It launched the GE Money Retail Bank in January 2006.

GE Money will continue to operate a consumer finance company, as it has done since 1993. Under the Bank of Thailand’s single presence rule, GE Money’s investment in the Bank of Ayudhya requires that it return its GE Money Retail Bank license. GE Money and Bank of Ayudhya are working closely together on a post-agreement plan that best leverages the strength of both entities. GE Money will look to focus on accelerating the growth of retail financial services while leveraging BAY’s already market-leading expertise in commercial banking.