CIT Group (CIT rated 'A-'/'F2' by Fitch) announced today that is has agreed to long term, committed financing provide by Goldman Sachs. The facility provides CIT with $3 billion of financing secured by existing assets and new originations.
While the deal does not warrant a rating action at this time, Fitch views this development positively as it adds financial flexibility and removes a level of uncertainty regarding the execution of CIT's strategic plan. Fitch considers the company's return to the unsecured debt markets an important ratings driver. Fitch believes the company needs to complete a number of initiatives, such as asset sales and growing the Utah bank. Once CIT completes its strategic transformation, Fitch will monitor the operating performance of the commercial finance businesses and determine if the underlying funding mix supports the current rating.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.
Contacts:
Vincent Arscott, CFA, 212-908-0872, New York
William
Artz, 312-368-3178, Chicago
or
Media Relations:
Kenneth
Reed, 212-908-0540, New York
