GE Commercial Finance, Commercial & Industrial Finance Names Industry Leader to Drive Growth in Automotive Market

NORWALK, Conn.--May 2, 20055, 2005--GE Commercial Finance, Commercial & Industrial Finance (CIF) today announced the appointment of Rich Carratu as Industry Leader for the automotive market.

In his new role, Carratu will be responsible for expanding the global focus for CIF in the automotive space. With more than $1.75 billion in automotive industry transactions, CIF relies on its deep industry expertise to help public and private entities across the globe access capital through the use of traditional debt, leasing and alternative sources of liquidity. Carratu will report to Craig Reynolds, Senior Managing Director, CIF.

"Rich brings a wealth of automotive sector experience and will take a leadership role delivering solutions to our customers," Reynolds said. "His industry knowledge and customer insight will help accelerate CIF's growth objectives in this important market."

Carratu joined GE in 1998 as Vice President of Business Development in a structured financing business. He most recently was Managing Director within CIF's sales group where he has been actively involved in originating, negotiating and closing numerous transactions.

Prior to joining GE, Carratu was with the Polish-American Enterprise Equity Fund in both New York and Warsaw where his assignments included the monitoring and exiting of portfolio companies. He also was a Vice President at Joseph Littlejohn & Levy where he worked with portfolio companies in the communications and industrial manufacturing industries. Before working with Joseph Littlejohn & Levy, he held various positions at Coopers and Lybrand (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers).

Carratu holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he became a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, and a BS in Accounting from Long Island University School of Professional Accountancy. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

About GE Commercial Finance, Commercial & Industrial Finance

GE Commercial & Industrial Finance (CIF), a unit of GE Commercial Finance, is a premier global provider of structured financing solutions to the commercial and industrial marketplace. CIF provides innovative financing solutions for a broad array of customer needs including recapitalization, equipment leasing, and growth capital. With over $9 billion in served assets, Commercial & Industrial Finance has the expertise and funding capability to deliver exceptional financing solutions.

GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of more than US$230 billion and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., USA.

GE is Imagination at Work - a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content, and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.