What’s next for CIT after bankruptcy?
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: One of America’s biggest lenders, CIT Group, emerged from bankruptcy this week. Marketplace’s Amy Scott tells us what might be next.
Amy Scott: It took CIT Group less than six weeks to wash its hands of bankruptcy.
Analyst Brian Charles with RW Pressprich says CIT’s bondholders could have pushed the company into liquidation. He says the fact that they didn’t is a sign the financial system is stabilizing.
Brian Charles: The smoothness with which this company was able to accomplish this, I think it kind of speaks well to, of the market and its increasing willingness, you know, to fund companies going forward.
So has CIT got a clean bill of health?
James Rybakoff: No.
James Rybakoff is CEO of investment banking firm Akin Bay. He says for one thing, many of the company’s clients are in the retail and clothing business. They’re in the middle of their make-or-break season.
Rybakoff: And until January, February comes around and see how they did, you won’t really know how CIT looks.
CIT’s survival is good news for small and medium-sized businesses. They’re struggling to get credit these days. But Rybakoff says the company will likely have to cut back on its lending as it recovers.
In New York, I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.
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