The prevailing take on General Electric's recent decision to jettison most of its GE Capital unit is that the division was a victim of its own excessive speculation during the 2008 financial crisis.

But Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, doesn't see it that way.

GE' capital's fate represent "a damning indictment of both the Federal Reserve and bank regulators," he writes in an article for Forbes.com.

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"Together, they have damaged the functioning of credit markets and almost paralyzed bank lending, thereby severely hampering recovery from the economic crisis of 2008–09."

The issues aren't unique to GE Capital, Forbes says.

"The conventional wisdom posits that banks and financial behemoths such as GE Capital were suddenly possessed of an insatiable bout of greed several years ago and recklessly expanded their activities, which brought the world to the brink of economic cardiac arrest," he explains.

"Balderdash! That narrative has it backwards. Government blunders, not some sudden failure of free markets, brought on the crisis. As is all too typical in such situations, the blame fell on the private sector, and the genuinely guilty parties, such as the Federal Reserve, assumed more power."

Meanwhile, former GE CEO Jack Welch approves of the company's decision on GE Capital. "I like the package. It looks like a smart move and right for the changing financial landscape," he tells CNBC. "The financial services game is a changed game."

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The 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law were the game changers, Welch notes.

"If you're sitting with a huge balance sheet of cash in financial services and can't lever it — not very pretty," he tells CNBC. "It would be like saying, 'Let's keep the buggy; forget these automobiles going down the road.'"

GE's action demonstrates the company's ability to adjust to a changing environment, an ability that has served GE well throughout its history, Welch states. That explains why the company will be around for "100 more years in the Dow Jones [Industrial Average]."

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