CIT Group Inc., a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, announced that it has completed the sale of its Canadian equipment finance and corporate finance businesses (CIT Canada), with assets of approximately US $700 million, to Laurentian Bank of Canada. As part of the sale, CIT will transfer approximately 135 employees of CIT Canada to the Laurentian Bank team.

“We are pleased to have successfully completed this transaction,” said Ellen R. Alemany, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer, CIT Group. “Since our strategic update in March, we have significantly improved our focus on our core businesses, and the completion of the sale of CIT Canada represents another important step toward becoming a leading national middle-market bank. We remain focused on executing on our strategic and financial initiatives to improve profitability, return excess capital to shareholders and maintain strong risk management.”

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to CIT Group for this transaction.