Japanese Banks Vie For GE Capital's National Branch

(Reuters) -- Two bidders remain in the race to buy General Electric's Japanese commercial lending business, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation. The leasing arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Shinsei Bank both submitted binding bids this month and will continue discussions with GE for its commercial lending and leasing operation, valued at nearly $5 billion, the newspaper said.

In April, the company said it would shed most of its finance unit and become a "simpler" industrial business instead of an unwieldy hybrid of banking and manufacturing.

The restructuring plan includes buying back up to $50 billion of its shares, selling about $30 billion in real estate assets over the next two years and divesting more GE Capital operations.