on a stand-alone basis GE Capital would be rated lower than AAA. GE Capital was not a bank. It had no bank branches in the United States and no way for anyone to make deposits. Unlike a bank, which relied on deposits to get the money it uses to lend out, GE Capital got the money it lent out primarily from the short-term commercial-paper market. And why not? The borrowings were unsecured, readily available, and cheap.
