Mr Welch, who has at times been critical of his successor, told CNBC yesterday: "I like the package. It looks like a smart move and right for the changing financial landscape." Mr Immelt said the decision to shed GE Capital was "emotional" for the company's executives. "We love GE Capital, we grew up with it," he said. However, he added, since the financial crisis of 2007-09 he had made it clear he was open to cutting back GE Capital when the timing was right. GE now intends to dispose of businesses that account for about three-quarters of GE Capital's assets, in areas such as commercial lending for "middle market" companies. That process was accelerated yesterday with the sale of $26.5bn of property assets to private equity firm Blackstone and Wells Fargo. The only financial operations to be retained will be the leasing operations that are directly tied to GE's manufacturing businesses. Wall Street applauded the plan.