Market Currents

• Thursday, December 10, 2009

• 11:23 AM CIT Group (CIT) up 10% on its first trading day since emerging from bankruptcy. Exiting after just 38 days seemed impossible a few months ago (and wouldn't have happened without vaporizing CIT's $2.3B government lifeline), but significant questions remain for the refashioned 101-year-old lender. 2 Comments

• Tuesday, December 8, 2009

• 13:29 PM CIT Group (CIT) wins approval of its reorganization plan, which could let it exit bankruptcy later this week. The plan will reduce the lender's debt by more than $10B. Unsecured debtholders will receive 70 cents on the dollar of new notes, plus new common stock. Comment!

• Friday, November 20, 2009

• 14:52 PM To settle credit-default swaps, derivatives traders have set a value of 68.125 cents on the dollar for CIT Group (CIT) bonds. The price fell from 70.25 cents after the first round of a 13-dealer auction. 4 Comments

• Thursday, November 19, 2009

• 11:11 AM CIT Group (CIT -4%) says it's got overwhelming support from bondholders for its prepackaged bankruptcy plan, scheduled for a Dec. 8 approval hearing. The company's lawyers cite a "need for speed" in getting through bankruptcy before customers defect in numbers. 1 Comment

• Monday, November 16, 2009

• 19:46 PM Twenty-seven banks that received TARP funds have been seized or threatened by regulators - adding up to as much as $5.1B in the program's funds that may be lost by taxpayers (almost certainly including the entire $2.3B that CIT Group (CIT) got). 1 Comment

• Wednesday, November 11, 2009

• 10:47 AM Short sellers abandon financials: BAC -12% to 67M shares. WFC -8%. CIT -4%. JPM -4%. 4 Comments

• Monday, November 9, 2009

• 15:55 PM The Friday failure of UCBH (UCBH) mostly likely means it joins CIT Group (CIT +38.2%) as a second lost TARP investment, the Treasury says. UCBH was approved for nearly $299M in funds a year ago, while CIT received more than $2B. Comment!

• Tuesday, November 3, 2009

• 11:30 AM The FDIC's clampdown on CIT Group's (CIT) bank unit, and refusal to guarantee the company's bond issues earlier this year, indicate that CIT's hopes for a quick exit from bankruptcy really lie in the hands of regulators - and what they'll let CIT do with its businesses. 1 Comment

• Monday, November 2, 2009

• 15:51 PM DealBook breaks down the $2.3B bath the government takes on CIT Group's (CIT -62.3%) bankruptcy. Finance professor Linus Wilson says the government's TARP investment in the lender was never a good idea, in the red from the start. 6 Comments

• Sunday, November 1, 2009

• 16:05 PM Nearly 90% of CIT's debtholders voted in favor of prepackaged bankruptcy, which it says will enable it to reduce total debt by $10B (including, one assumes, the government's $2.3B injection), significantly reduce its liquidity needs over the next three years, enhance its capital ratios and accelerate its return to profitability. Bondholders will receive about $0.70 on the dollar. (PR) 2 Comments
• 15:46 PM CIT Group's (CIT) board says it will file for bankruptcy. (MW) 2 Comments

• Friday, October 30, 2009

• 13:37 PM CIT Group (CIT) agrees to accept $1B in backup financing from Carl Icahn, to be tapped if it needs more than the $4.5B it accepted from other bondholders. For his part, Icahn will back down while the company restructures in bankruptcy; it plans to file as soon as Sunday night or early Monday and Icahn will vote for the plan. CIT's debt exchange likely failed. Shares picked up a bit as trading resumed, now down 16%. Comment!
• 13:25 PM CIT Group (CIT -13%) halted; reportedly to get $1B in funds from Carl Icahn. (WSJ) 1 Comment
• 10:26 AM CIT Group (CIT) reaches an agreement with Goldman Sachs (GS) to amend a $3B loan facility, ending their dispute over a $1B "make whole" payment. Goldman to reduce the loan size to $2.13B, wiping out the unused portion of the facility, for which CIT will pay Goldman a $285M penalty, and post an additional $250M of collateral. (8-K) 1 Comment
• 09:20 AM CIT Group (CIT -27.3%) is closing in on 2/3 of its bondholder votes for a prepackaged bankruptcy, and is likely to file on Sunday. ((CNBC)) Comment!
• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: GNW +13%.% RVSN +11%. EL +8%. LVS +8%. VVUS +8%. AIXG +7%. YRCW +5%. MGM +5%. CMI +4%. SHPGY +4%.
  Losers: NVTL -19%. SMP -12%. ALU -8%. MTW -7%. CIT -6%. CBEH -7%. Comment!