CIT Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 1, 2009, during the global financial crisis.
CIT was a major provider of financing to small and midsize businesses, manufacturers, retailers, and other commercial customers. Its business was damaged by the credit crisis, which made it harder to obtain funding and manage debt.
The bankruptcy plan reduced CIT’s debt and allowed the company to continue operating while it reorganized. CIT emerged from Chapter 11 on December 10, 2010, after completing a court-approved restructuring.
CIT Group is often confused with Lehman Brothers, whose September 2008 collapse became the largest U.S. bankruptcy at that time. CIT was a different financial company and filed more than a year later. Its case is notable because it involved a large commercial lender rather than a traditional investment bank.