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CIT Group (CIT), a subsidiary of
First Citizens BancShares First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated 57 ...
, is an American financial services company. It provides financing, including factoring, cash management, treasury management,
mortgage loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any p ...
s, Small Business Administration loans, leasing, and advisory services principally to individuals, middle-market companies and small businesses, primarily in North America. Under the
reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...
CEFX, it leases locomotives and
railroad cars A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...
to
rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
and shipping companies in North America. It also operates a direct bank.


History


Founding and early history

On February 11, 1908, Henry Ittleson founded the Commercial Credit and Investment Company in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
to finance accounts receivable at small companies. In 1915, the company moved its headquarters to New York City and renamed itself Commercial Investment Trust (CIT). By that time, the company provided financing for wholesale suppliers and producers of consumer goods. The company added automobile financing to its product line in 1916 through an agreement with
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
, the first of its kind in the auto industry. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, CIT financed the manufacture of 150 submarine chasers. It also added consumer financing of radios through an agreement with Thomas Edison, Inc. During the
Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...
following the war, consumer spending rose dramatically and CIT prospered in its consumer appliance, furniture, and automobile financing groups. In 1924, CIT incorporated in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and became a
public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
. CIT began offering factoring in 1928 and expanded operations into Europe in 1929. With international tensions rising prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, CIT closed its German operations in 1934. Arthur O. Dietz succeeded Ittleson as president of the company in 1939. During the war, CIT offered its 2,000 employees a month's bonus, life insurance, and a guaranteed job on return if they served in the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. Between 1947 and 1950, the company's net income rose from $7.3 million to $30.8 million. Ittleson died at age 77 on October 27, 1948.


1950s - 1990s

In 1957, the company moved into a new building at 650
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. In 1958, to diversify, the company acquired Picker X-Ray Corporation, maker of X-ray and radiation equipment, for $1.9 million. In 1960, Walter Lundell succeeded Dietz as president of the company. In 1964, it acquired Gibson Greeting Cards for $36 million. In 1965, it acquired Meadow Brook Bank for $106.7 million in stock. In 1969, CIT entered the personal and home equity loan and leasing business and left auto financing. In 1979, restrictive banking rules forced CIT to sell its bank, National Bank of North America. CIT was acquired by
RCA Corporation The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
in 1980. RCA promptly sold CIT's four manufacturing businesses: Picker X-Ray, Inc., Gibson Greeting Cards, Inc., All-Steel, Inc. (office furniture), and Raco, Inc. (wall boxes for electric switches and outlets.) The Madison Avenue building was sold in 1982 as the company moved to a newly constructed headquarters facility in Livingston, New Jersey in 1983. In 1984, CIT was sold to Manufacturers Hanover Trust. In 1989, Manufacturers Hanover Trust sold 60% of CIT to
Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank , abbreviated as , was one of the largest banks in the world during the latter half of the 20th century. Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank was created in 1971 by a consortium of two banks: Dai-Ichi Bank, Japan's oldest bank, and Nippon Kangyo Bank, a state fin ...
of Japan. In 1991, the company acquired Fidelcor Business Credit Corporation, which increased its services to small businesses. In 1992, CIT opened 15 new offices in 7 states. In 1997, the company became a
public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
that raised $850 million. On November 15, 1999, CIT acquired Toronto-based Newcourt Credit Group in a $4.2 billion transaction, which created one of the largest publicly owned leasing companies.


Early 2000s

In 2001, Tyco acquired CIT for $9.2 billion in stock. CIT was renamed as Tyco Capital. Tyco ran into operating troubles and sold or spun off non-core operations, including CIT. On July 8, 2002, Tyco completed its divestment of its Tyco Capital business through an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
, via the sale of 100% of the common shares in CIT Group Inc. In 2004, the company acquired the technology-leasing unit of
GATX GATX Corporation is a railcar lessor that owns fleets in North America, Europe, and Asia. In addition, jointly with Rolls-Royce Limited, it owns one of the largest aircraft spare engine lease portfolios. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...
for about $200 million in cash. In 2006, CIT moved its global headquarters back to New York City, opening a new headquarters at 11 West 42nd Street, across from the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. Under the leadership of CEO Jeff Peek, assets at CIT rose 77% from 2004 to the end of 2007 as it acquired companies in education lending and subprime mortgages. Those acquisitions turned out to be disastrous for the company and in the following eight quarters, CIT reported more than $3 billion in losses.


Bankruptcy and reorganization

On July 1, 2008, the company announced the sale of its home lending division to
Lone Star Funds Lone Star Funds, legal name of main entity Lone Star Global Acquisitions, Ltd. is an American private equity firm that invests in distressed assets in the U.S., Canada and internationally. The founder of Lone Star established its first fund in 1 ...
for $1.5 billion in cash and the assumption of $4.4 billion in debt and the sale of its manufactured housing loan portfolio, with a face value of $470 million in loans, to Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance for approximately $300 million. In December 2008, CIT became a bank holding company to receive $2.33 billion in funds from the
Troubled Asset Relief Program The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
(TARP). On July 15, 2009, CIT's request for
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
loan guarantees was rejected. On July 19, 2009, the company received $3 billion from its bondholders including
Pacific Investment Management Company PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC) is an American investment management firm focusing on active fixed income management worldwide. PIMCO manages investments in many asset classes such as fixed income, equities, commodities, asset ...
(PIMCO) to delay bankruptcy. On November 1, 2009, CIT filed a prepackaged bankruptcy under Chapter 11. On December 10, 2009, CIT emerged from bankruptcy protection. As part of the reorganization plan, CIT named seven new independent directors. On January 19, 2010, Peter J. Tobin, a member of the
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, was named interim chief executive officer, replacing Jeff Peek, who resigned effective January 15, 2010. On February 8, 2010, former
Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
CEO
John Thain John Alexander Thain (born May 26, 1955) is an American businessman, investment banker, and former chair and CEO of the CIT Group. Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America. ...
was hired as chairman and chief executive officer. In June 2014, the company acquired Direct Capital. On August 3, 2015, CIT Group acquired OneWest Bank, established in 2009 by a consortium of private equity investors led by
Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
, for $3.4 billion in cash and stock.


2016 to present

In March 2016, CEO
John Thain John Alexander Thain (born May 26, 1955) is an American businessman, investment banker, and former chair and CEO of the CIT Group. Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America. ...
retired and was succeeded by Ellen Alemany, a member of the
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
. In April 2017, the company sold its
aircraft lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
business to
Avolon Avolon is an aircraft leasing company based in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in May 2010 by Dómhnal Slattery and a team from RBS Aviation Capital, including John Higgins, Tom Ashe, Andy Cronin, Simon Hanson and Ed Riley. In December 2014, A ...
for $10.38 billion. In October 2017, the company sold Financial Freedom, acquired as part of the acquisition of OneWest Bank, and its reverse mortgage portfolio. In October 2018, the company sold its European rail leasing business, NACCO, which was its last overseas operation. In January 2020, CIT acquired Mutual of Omaha Bank. In January 2022, CIT was acquired by
First Citizens BancShares First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated 57 ...
.


References


External links

* {{authority control 1908 establishments in Missouri 1997 initial public offerings 2001 mergers and acquisitions 2022 mergers and acquisitions 2002 initial public offerings American companies established in 1908 Banks based in New York City Banks established in 1908 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 Financial services companies of the United States American corporate subsidiaries Rolling stock leasing companies Tyco International