"Leveraging CIT's reputation as one of the leading providers of working capital solutions to the consumer products sector with a deep understanding of the retail and wholesale distribution markets, James will play an important role as we expand the working capital solutions of CIT Commercial Services into adjacent verticals."

LOS ANGELES, CA - CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) cit.com, a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, today announced the appointment of James Paterson as Vice President of Business Development for CIT Commercial Services, a leading provider of factoring services in the United States. He will report directly to Mitch Cohen, Executive Vice President and Western Regional Manager of CIT Commercial Services.

"James has extensive industry and transaction experience and I'm excited to welcome him to our team," said Cohen. "Leveraging CIT's reputation as one of the leading providers of working capital solutions to the consumer products sector with a deep understanding of the retail and wholesale distribution markets, James will play an important role as we expand the working capital solutions of CIT Commercial Services into adjacent verticals."

Paterson has been assisting companies in the middle market achieve their growth capital needs for over 20 years. During that period, he has worked in both New York and Los Angeles as an investment banker, commercial banker and merchant banker at Credit Suisse First Boston, GE Capital, Jefferies & Co. and Ocean Capital Partners.

About CIT Commercial Services
CIT Commercial Services is one of the nation's leading providers of factoring and financing to consumer product companies. We tailor business credit solutions that help companies increase sales, improve cash flow, reduce operating expenses and eliminate customer credit losses. Our clients are vendors that sell to a broad range of public and private retailers, wholesalers and distributors across the nation and abroad. cit.com/commercialservices

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 more than 30 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

CIT MEDIA RELATIONS:
C. Curtis Ritter
Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications
(973) 740-5390
Curt.Ritter@cit.com

Matt Klein
Vice President, Media Relations
(973) 597-2020
Matt.Klein@cit.com

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