CIT loses Chinese support

Chinese banks that were interested in
learning more about leasing, have backed away from the option of
buying a stake in CIT and forming partnerships with the company,
because of the commercial and consumer lender’s inability to fund
operations amid the credit crunch, according to a report by
Reuters in India.
Although the sources in the Reuters story declined to be
identified, it did say that The Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China and Bank of China were considering buying a stake in CIT, but
reportedly declined to confirm the partnership because of funding
concerns.
Jeff Peek, CEO of CIT said in a conference call last month that the
company was in talks with several potential funding partners, but
let slip that even though CIT was “close to one – in this
environment, it backed away a little bit.” Furthermore, according
to the story, Peek noted during the session that CIT would be
looking to sell $5bn to $7bn in non-core assets to help finance
itself.