CIT Bank Provides $100,000 Grant to COR Community Development Corporation

OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender), which offers products and services to consumers through a network of retail branches in Southern California, today announced it provided a $100,000 grant to the COR Community Development Corporation, the non-profit of Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Irvine, California. The grant will be used to provide ongoing support for the development of the COR Innovation Fund, a micro fund and entrepreneurial program targeting at-risk, low-income youth in Orange County. Participants go through a rigorous financial education program and ultimately create a business plan that they execute. Select participants are eligible for financing to invest in their business as part of the program. CIT Bank is the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), cit.com, a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services.

Reverend Charles Dorsey, Executive Director, COR Community Development Corporation, said, “For the past 15 years, we have specialized in meeting the needs of low and moderate income individuals. This grant will make a significant impact supporting our Innovative Impact Fund Young Entrepreneur Academy (IIFYEA) program, which offers financial literacy, life skills, business basics, and self-empowerment character building for Orange County high school and community college students. IIFYEA targets young people from poorly serviced communities and those currently in the Orange County ‘alternative’ school system, known as Access. We are pleased to partner with CIT to support this life-changing program.”

John Erickson, President of Consumer Banking and President, California, CIT Bank, said, “The Innovative Impact Fund Youth Entrepreneur Academy provides a viable alternative pathway for underserved youth to use their talents, skills and passions to make a positive impact on their life and the lives of others. Supporting initiatives such as the IIFYEA is a crucial part of CIT’s commitment to provide banking services to underrepresented and underserved communities of Southern California while investing in the communities where we do business and our employees live and work.”

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COR Community Development Corporation (COR CDC) is the economic development arm of COR AME Church, Irvine, CA. COR CDC is committed to empowering communities and transforming lives through the work of economic and community development. For the past 15 years, COR CDC has embraced the task of supporting youth education, offering financial literacy, granting need-based scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, and meeting the social service needs of affordable housing communities in the Orange County and throughout the state. corcdc.org

About CIT

Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE:CIT) is a financial holding company with more than $65 billion in assets. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has more than $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. It provides financing, leasing and advisory services principally to middle market companies across a wide variety of industries primarily in North America, and equipment financing and leasing solutions to the transportation sector. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. cit.com

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