In a year that saw some of the world's biggest banks buckle under the strain of a deepening credit crisis, few investors would blame General Electric for shrinking its own finance arm.

Indeed, GE's shares surged 14 per cent yesterday after executives revealed details of a plan to wean its dependence on financial services for profit while assuring its GE Capital arm can prosper as what Michael Neal, the unit's chief executive officer, called a "well-funded, but smaller, business".