NEW YORK, N.Y. – General Electric says the U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed the company as part of an industrywide investigation into subprime mortgage lending.
According to a filing the industrial conglomerate made Friday, federal prosecutors are examining potential violations by GE’s WMC mortgage lending business from 2005 to 2007. The company says it received the subpoenas in January and will co-operate with the investigation, “which is at an early stage.”
WMC specialized in making loans to consumers with less-than-perfect credit scores. GE sold the business in 2007 after the collapse of the U.S. housing market.
In the last year, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE has been focusing on selling off most of its finance and lending operations to refocus on its industrial businesses.
