The unit has $115 billion under management, including the company’s own plans and portfolios of clients around the globe, GE said.

General Electric Co.is trying to sell the asset management arm that oversees the company’s pension plan as it continues to cut back on non-manufacturing operations.

“Our strong capital position provides us with the flexibility to complete this acquisition, which is consistent with our strategy and well-aligned with our risk profile”, Downe said.

The business is the latest to be sold as GE hives off about $200 billion of lending assets in CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s retreat from financial services.

BMO said the GE business it is acquiring is based in Irving, Texas, and is the largest North American financier to the commercial truck and trailer segment.

The deal between GE and Bank of Montreal is projected to close in the first quarter, and the Canadian bank is expecting a boost on the return immediately.

BMO will retain the Transportation Finance management team and employees, GE said.

Toronto-Canada based Bank of MontrealBMO is expanding its presence in the transport finance business. Earlier this year, Synchrony Financial took a lease for the entirety of the office park at 777 Long Ridge Road as the retail finance company readies to separate from GE as an independent company based in Stamford.

As far as GE is concerned, the sale of its transportation finance business is part of the company’s plan of selling most of its assets in its GE Capital financing unit.

The transaction represents ENI (Ending Net Investment) of roughly $9 billion, and subject to customary regulatory and other approvals, is expected to conclude by the end of this year.

The deal also fits in with a trend that has seen Canadian banks add higher-yielding assets to their product mix as they deal with a low-interest rate environment and sluggish growth in retail loans.

BMO said the purchase price will be funded from “primarily through existing balance sheet liquidity, additional deposits and wholesale funding”.