GE Credit-Card Settlement Clears Hurdle

General Electric Co. won a judge’s preliminary approval of a settlement valued at as much as $147 million that ends lawsuits accusing the company of illegally collecting debts from bankrupt credit-card customers. U.S. District Judge James Holderman set a Dec. 23 date for more than 100,000 consumers of GE’s finance unit, GE Capital, to decide whether to accept as much as $120 million in compensation for the company’s failure to properly file debt-repayment agreements. A final hearing on the settlement is scheduled for Jan. 22. The settlement also calls for the company to pay $27 million to states to settle consumer complaints about the controversial debt-collection tactic. GE officials didn’t return calls seeking comment on the decision. GE Capital is the second-largest provider of private-label credit cards in the U.S.