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CIT also plans to sell peripheral businesses to simplify its structure, less than three months after the close of its $3.4 billion deal for OneWest Bank.
October 21 -
CIT Group has completed its acquisition of OneWest Bank in Pasadena, Calif.
August 3 -
Regulators gave conditional approval for CIT Group's deal to buy OneWest Bank, paving the way for an institution that would be deemed systemically important, with $70 billion in combined assets.
July 21
CIT Group, the commercial lender that's expanded into retail banking, posted profit that beat analysts' estimates as loans and deposits increased with the acquisition of OneWest Bank Group.
Third-quarter net income rose 35% to $693.1 million, or $3.61 a share, from $514.9 million, or $2.76 a year earlier, the New York-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Adjusted profit, which excludes some items, was 80 cents a share, compared with the 72-cent average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
CIT's $3.4 billion takeover of Pasadena, Calif.-based lender OneWest was approved by regulators in August, giving the firm more access to retail deposits, a cheaper source of funding that could help boost profits. The company said last month it intends to sell lending operations in Canada and China and explore strategic options for a $10 billion commercial-air business as it seeks to simplify operations.
"We made significant progress in our transition to a U.S. commercial bank model in the third quarter," Chief Executive Officer John Thain said in the statement. "We sold our business in Mexico, moved certain international businesses into held for sale and are exploring strategic alternatives for our Commercial Air business."
Thain, 60, who rebuilt the company after the financial crisis, said in October that he'll step down at the end of March. He said his job at the lender was "kind of done" and he hoped to retire to spend more time with his granddaughter. Ellen Alemany, a director at the bank, will succeed him as CEO.
CIT shares fell 10% this year through Monday.
