GE had said it would reduce costs at GE Capital by about $2 billion this year, according to the report.

A GE spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

GE shares, part of the Dow Jones industrial average, were down 33 cents or 2.4 percent at $13.44 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The shares lost about half their value last year as the credit crunch took a heavy toll on GE's hefty finance business, and last month Standard & Poor's lowered its ratings outlook on the company to "negative," meaning that it had a one-in-three chance of losing its top-tier rating over the next two years.

(Reporting by Nick Zieminski, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)