GE Capital nearly sank the whole company during the 2008 financial crisis, and the company has been trying to shrink the division's portfolio ever since.

An initial public offering of the consumer lending division, which issues store credit cards for 55 million Americans, could come early next year, but its size has not yet been determined, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"A spin-off of GE's consumer business would be a significant positive for the company, as it would expedite its shift to industrial earnings solidly outgrowing GE Capital," said William Blair & Company analyst Nicholas Heyman, in a note.

GE declined to comment.

The consumer division earned $3.24 billion last year and had assets of $139 billion. GE Capital's total assets at the end of 2012 were $539 billion.

Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt at a conference in May said the company aimed to trim GE Capital's assets to $300 billion to $350 billion by the end of 2014 through "staged exits" of some non-core assets.

Bankers from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are working on a possible public offering, while alternatives include smaller spin-offs or asset sales, the WSJ said. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. JPMorgan was not immediately available.

William Blair analysts said the consumer division could potentially be valued at $35 billion, or about $3 to $4 per GE share.