Jeff Immelt has managed to pull General Electric out of a conflict with Uncle Sam that would have required the conglomerate to convert its financial arm into a full-fledged bank, and pour in billions of reserves.

GE said yesterday it got approval to exit a federal rescue program that provided $129 billion in guarantees to back debt sold by its struggling financial arm, GE Capital.

As a result, GE won’t have to bow to federal regulators overseeing its participation in the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP), which helped lift numerous financial institutions from the slump.

Had GE remained in the program, which ends Oct. 31 when oversight reverts to the Federal Reserve, the company would have had to follow Federal Reserve rules and convert GE Capital into a bank.