Add another large lender to the list of companies that want nothing more to do with the firearms business. GE Capital, the financing arm of the conglomerate, has been providing loans to firearms buyers through local gun stores since 2006. According to wsj.com, that’s all about to stop. “This month, Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan’s Outdoor Store in Bay City, Mich., said he received a letter from GE Capital Retail Bank in which the lender said it had made ‘the difficult decision’ to stop providing financing services to his store. Other gun dealers have received similar notices.” GE actually stopped adding new gun dealer finance customers back in 2008, but continued to work with local gun stores they’d already signed up for their services. Now, they’re getting out entirely . . .
The wsj.com article implies that the Newtown shooting was just too close to home. GE’s based in Fairfield, Connecticut, “and many of the GE’s employees live around Newtown, and several have children in the Sandy Hook elementary school.” It’s also where Adam Lanza’s father works.
As for their stated reason, all GE Capital’s putting out is the usual corporatese: “‘Industry changes, new legislation and tragic events’ led GE Capital to reexamine its policies on financing firearms, spokesman Russell Wilkerson said.”
Will another privately owned, deep pocketed firm that’s not beholden to skittish investors step up to fill the void? Stay tuned.