CIT

Cit Group Inc

A commercial finance specialist, CIT lends money and leases equipment to small and mid-sized businesses, including financing locomotives and railcars through its CIT Rail arm and serving the healthcare and technology sectors. Founded in 1908 in St. Louis by Henry Ittleson, it began by financing accounts receivable for small firms, moved to New York in 1915, and took its initials from its rebrand as the Commercial Investment Trust. It was one of the first financiers to back automobile sales, striking an early deal with carmaker Studebaker, and in 2022 became a division of First Citizens Bank.