GE Capital targets $45 billion new issuance in 2009

By Andrea Heisinger

New York, Dec. 2 - General Electric Capital Corp. laid out its plans for 2009 and beyond in a conference call Tuesday, including plans to issue as much as $45 billion of new debt in 2009.

The company's long-term debt issuance before the current financial crisis was $80 billion to $100 billion per year and is now about $50 billion. Spreads have also risen dramatically.

The government's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program gave GE Capital a capacity of $132 billion and solidifies its issuance volume and improves long-term debt pricing, the company said.

The program has opened GE's access to government debt buyers through June 2009, when the guarantee expires.

GE Capital is targeting $45 billion of issuance in 2009. This is half the amount issued in 2007 and below the estimated $70 billion for 2008.

The coming year will also be one of downsizing and diversifying, the company said, including long-term debt issuance and anticipation of the government programs ending.

Opportunistic tapping of the FDIC-backed debt is pre-funding 2009.

The company noted that while fixed-rate debt spreads are up, they are offset by lower benchmark rates.

The company also said it does not see the need to become a bank holding company.

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