A woman walks past CIT's offices in New York, July 13, 2009. The lender's financial troubles could carry over to its clients, which include several small businesses and chains such as Dunkin Donuts. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
ABC News reports that Small Business Lender Says It’s Looking at Alternatives to Federal Government Help.
CIT Group Inc., a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies, announced Wednesday that it is unlikely to receive additional government support in the near future.
The board of directors and management is looking for alternative financing, according to a statement released by the company Wednesday.
Dunkin’ Donuts and Dillard’s department stores are two of CIT’s major clients who were anxiously awaiting news on the company’s fate Wednesday.
The lender, in existence for more than 100 years, now accounts for around 60 to 70 percent of small business financing.
A Treasury spokesman told ABC News, “We have a comprehensive and aggressive strategy to restore stability to the financial system as a whole so that credit flows to both businesses and consumers and puts us on a path to sustainable growth. As part of that strategy, we have put in place a powerful set of innovative financing mechanisms to help restart the overall credit markets that are critical to growth.
Even during periods of financial stress, we believe that there is a very high threshold for exceptional government assistance to individual companies.”
