Yesterday we told you about the trend of financial institutions jumping on the bailout “gravy train” by acquiring — or transforming themselves into — traditional banks, which are eligible for the government’s $700 billion TARP program.
Well add one more big institution to the list. The federal government has given preliminary approval to a $2.33 billion injection of gravy into CIT Group less than 24 hours after the firm’s application to become a bank holding company was approved.
The AP reports:
Commercial financial firm CIT Group Inc. said Tuesday it received preliminary approval to obtain $2.33 billion as part of the government’s $700 billion bank investment program.The approval comes just hours after the government approved CIT’s application to become a bank holding company. …
CIT recently announced it was raising $300 million through a public stock offer and bolstering its capital through a debt exchange offer as it worked to win approval to become a bank holding company.
You can read the Fed’s approval of CIT’s switch to a bank holding company here (pdf).