General Electric says the financial health of its big lending arm has improved since earlier this year, but high losses on loans gone bad will continue into next year.

GE says profits should be flat next year at GE Capital and then grow in 2011. It says GE Capital is having an easier time raising money in the credit markets. But losses, which have hurt GE in areas like commercial real estate, aren't expected to peak until 2010.

GE, which struck a deal last week to eventually sell its NBC division to cable operator Comcast, is giving investors its third in-depth look into GE Capital this year.

The lending unit has struggled during the financial crisis over loan losses in sectors like commercial real estate, credit cards and overseas mortgages.