New GE Money boss: We've budgeted 5-6% growth

Cristian Dragos, the new head of GE Money, which grants mortgage, consumer loans and leasing funding, expects loan interest rates to go down, but not very quickly, as default risks are still high. GE Money, the retail-financing arm of US' General Electric, targets a 5-6% increase in the loan volume this year after loan demand plummeted in 2009. In late 2009, the three companies of the group, Domenia Credit, Ralfi and Motoractive Leasing, held 630m-dollar assets, down from 2008, with loans granted accounting for almost the entire sum. "For this year, plans are conservative, we've tried to be realistic. We want to boost loan volumes by 5-6%, but we are flexible and we're reassessing this quarterly plan. We may grow more or less than that," Dragos said. He expects the segment of consumer loans, which the Americans grant through Ralfi, to be the first to rebound. He believes lending to SMEs is more important than re-starting retail lending, as it is only in this way that jobs can be created.