GE Consumer Finance Europe (GECFE), which employs 500 people in Dublin, reported a 27 per cent increase in assets in the Republic last year, as it rolled out its new GE Money brand.
Dan O'Connor, president and chief executive of GECFE, the consumer lending unit of US multinational GE, said business in the Republic was growing strongly and predicted no let-up over the coming year.
Growth in net income was slightly more than the growth in assets, he said, declining to be more precise.
Mr O'Connor, who has headed the Dublin-based European finance division for 10 years, said yesterday he would leave the position within the next six months to focus on other opportunities.
He will be succeeded by William Cary, head of investor relations at GE in the US, who will take up the position on March 1st. Mr Cary has been with the company since 1986.
Across the European finance division, net income grew by 18 per cent last year to $1.36 billion (€1.14 billion). Europe accounts for about 45 per cent of net income from GE's global finance division, with about $73 billion in assets, and employs more than 22,000 people in 24 countries. The profit was boosted by strong growth in demand for mortgages, and loans, particularly in eastern Europe.
The company also said it had received regulatory approval for its acquisition of a 25.5 per cent stake in Turkish bank Garanti from Dogus for $1.6 billion. The acquisition was first announced in August last year.
Since Mr O'Connor took the helm at GECFE, the group has made more than 20 acquisitions, favouring this method for entering new countries. He said it would spend up to $3.55 billion on purchases this year.
