SEC probes GE charge behind $10bn: report

General Electric (GE) has disclosed that US securities regulators had begun probing a multibillion-dollar insurance charge it announced last week, a write-off that produced a $10-billion loss in the latest quarter, a Reuters report said.

The US conglomerate also forecast further weakening of its troubled power business this year as it reported a 5-percent drop in quarterly revenue, the report said.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation in late November of the long-term service agreements that govern GE’s maintenance of power plants, jet engines and other industrial equipment it sells, GE said.

The SEC recently expanded the inquiry to include a $6.2 billion charge and $15 billion in provisions for insurance policies that GE announced last week, GE said.

GE did not provide further details, but said it is cooperating with the investigation, the Reuters report said.