Thank you very much.
My name is Elyse Allan. I'm president and CEO of GE Canada. I'm joined by my colleague, Jean-François Bertrand. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to appear before the committee.
GE is known for many things. One of them is providing light, and I hope we can provide some light to the challenges of commercial lending in the current environment.
Worldwide, GE has more than 300,000 employees in more than 100 countries. Our business units range from financial services, aviation, energy, lighting, and appliances, to health care, NBC Universal, rail, and more.
We've been in Canada since 1892. GE Canada generated $6.7 billion in revenue in 2008. We have over 9,000 employees, $24 billion in assets, over 15 major manufacturing facilities, and over 100 sales and service sites.
GE Capital Canada is one of our units. It is the largest non-bank commercial lender in Canada. GE Capital Canada lending and leasing division's head office is in Montreal. We have 600 employees at 23 offices across Canada.
GE Capital Canada provides financing to over 60,000 Canadian companies, most of which are small and medium-sized. GE Capital Canada provides lending and lease alternatives to bank financing. We help companies invest in new technology and equipment. We consolidate debt and we provide vendor and franchise financing. In 2008, our asset-based financing for new business activity in Canada was $10.9 billion.
Our 60,000 customers are in a broad range of industries: transportation, aerospace, construction, forestry, manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, and franchise finance. We also have a specialized unit to finance and manage truck and vehicle fleets.
In short, Canadian companies rely on GE Capital Canada to finance their operations, invest in new technology, and employ Canadians.
Jean-François, please.