CIT Group Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a leading global commercial and consumer
finance company. Founded in 1908, we provide financing and leasing capital for
companies in a wide variety of industries, including many of today's leading industries
and emerging businesses. We offer vendor, equipment, commercial, factoring, consumer
and structured financing products.
We have broad access to customers and markets through our "franchise"
businesses. Each business focuses on specific industries, asset types and markets,
with portfolios diversified by client, industry and geography.
We provide a wide range of financing and leasing products to small, midsize
and larger companies across a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing,
retailing, transportation, aerospace, construction, technology, communication,
and various service-related industries. Our secured lending, leasing and factoring
products include direct loans and leases, operating leases, leveraged and single
investor leases, secured revolving lines of credit and term loans, credit protection,
accounts receivable collection, import and export financing, debtor-in-possession
and turnaround financing, and acquisition and expansion financing. Consumer
lending, conducted in our Specialty Finance segment, consists primarily of home
equity lending to consumers originated largely through a network of brokers
and correspondents.
Transactions are generated through direct calling efforts with borrowers, lessees,
equipment end-users, vendors, manufacturers and distributors and through referral
sources and other intermediaries. In addition, our strategic business units
work together in referring transactions to other CIT units to best meet our
customers' overall financing needs. We also buy and sell participations in and
syndications of finance receivables and/or lines of credit. From time to time,
in the normal course of business, we purchase finance receivables on a wholesale
basis to supplement our origination volume and sell certain finance receivables
and equipment under operating leases to reduce concentrations, for other balance
sheet management purposes, or to improve profitability.
We conduct our operations through five strategic business units that market
products and services that satisfy the financing needs of specific customers,
industries, vendors/manufacturers, and markets. Our five business segments are
as follows:
o Specialty Finance -- vendor programs, small-ticket commercial lending and
leasing, consumer home equity lending and U.S. Small Business Administration
lending;
o Commercial Finance -- mid- to large-ticket asset-based lending, factoring;
o Equipment Finance -- diversified, middle market equipment lending and leasing;
o Capital Finance -- commercial aircraft and rail equipment leasing and lending;
and
o Structured Finance -- advisory services, including transaction structuring,
other specialized investment banking services and project and other large ticket
asset-based financing.
We compete primarily on the basis of pricing, terms and structure. From time
to time, our competitors seek to compete aggressively on the basis of these
factors and we may lose market share to the extent we are unwilling to match
competitor pricing and terms in order to maintain interest margins and/or credit
standards.
Other primary competitive factors include industry experience, client service
and relationships. In addition, demand for our products with respect to certain
industries will be affected by demand for such industry's services and products
and by industry regulations.