CIT Group Inc., a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, announced the appointment of John C. Erickson (54) as President of Consumer Banking and President, California, effective immediately. He will serve on the company’s Executive Management Committee and report directly to Chief Executive Officer Ellen Alemany. Erickson will be based in CIT Bank’s headquarters in Pasadena, California.

“We are excited to have someone of John’s caliber join CIT’s management team and to lead the growth efforts for our banking group. He is a well-respected executive with more than 30 years of experience growing and expanding a regional bank in California,” said Alemany. “John will be instrumental in driving profitable growth and supporting our team’s broader efforts to expand in key areas such as commercial banking products and depository offerings. He’ll also help us foster support for our activities related to the Community Reinvestment Act and meeting the credit needs of the communities and neighborhoods we serve. I look forward to working with John and our management team on executing our strategic initiatives.”

Commenting on his appointment, Erickson added, “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Ellen and the CIT team, and it is especially nice to continue to be located in Southern California as I have been for my entire career. I look forward to supporting CIT’s strategic plan to create a leading national middle market bank and to partnering with our surrounding communities.”

Erickson is joining CIT Group as President of Consumer Banking and President, California. Erickson comes to CIT following his retirement in 2014 after a 31-year career at Union Bank. Erickson’s two most recent operating roles were as Vice Chairman, having acted as Chief Corporate Banking Officer from 2009 to 2013 and as Chief Risk Officer from 2007 to 2009. As Chief Corporate Banking Officer, he was responsible for managing a diverse group of units including treasury management, wealth management, commercial banking, real estate, and capital markets which comprised over 80% of Union Bank’s income. In this role he was a member of Union Bank’s Executive Management Committee and a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group U.S. Management Committee.

Prior to this role, in 2007 Erickson was appointed Vice Chairman and Chief Risk Officer to provide risk leadership through the financial crisis. He was responsible for enterprise-wide risk management and addressing certain key regulatory issues.

Previously, he was named Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management in 2003 and prior to that, Executive Vice President, National Banking in 2001. Erickson joined Union Bank in 1983 as part of its Management Training Program.

After his retirement from Union Bank in 2014, he joined the board of Zions Bancorporation where he served as Chair of the Risk Oversight Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee.