Exhibit 99.1
[LOGO]
Prel. DRAFT: 8am - 12/1/00
CIT HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS AND
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AT INVESTOR DAY
NEW YORK December 1, 2000 -CIT (NYSE - CIT, TSE - CIT.U and Exchangeable Shares:
TSE - CGX.U), the world's largest publicly traded commercial finance
organization, today held its Investor Day Conference in New York City and
broadcast the event live on its Web site (www.cit.com). Presentations were
delivered by senior executives representing the company's key businesses, and
the group heard remarks from Albert R. Gamper, Jr., CIT's Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer, on the company's solid business condition and
future prospects.
Gamper said that the company continues to solidify its leadership position in
its traditional lines of business and is firmly establishing itself as one of
the leading financing providers to the companies driving the 21st century
economy. "We value market leadership positions, we value a broadened CIT made
possible by last year's acquisitions, and we have made great progress
integrating and building one company with one strategy," he stated.
In addition to Gamper, presenters included Joseph M. Leone, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer. Reiterating financial highlights from
CIT's third quarter announcement and conference call, Leone said, "We have
streamlined our organization and continue to target improvements in our
operating efficiency ratio toward our goal of 40 percent while broadening our
revenue base. We also continue to focus on maintaining strong portfolio credit
quality and strong debt ratings."
An overview of the capabilities and focus of CIT's business groups was also
presented at the conference. CIT is the number one industry player in vendor
financing, U.S. factoring, construction and SBA lending, and is a leader in
financing commercial aerospace, corporate aircraft, rail, secured business
credit, as well as advisory-structured finance, and home equity-broker Internet
lending. Among the key points made by each business group were:
Equipment Finance and Leasing Business Groups
Equipment Financing Group
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o Diversified middle market secured equipment lender
o Private label as Agilent Financial Services
o Leadership position in construction, printing, machine tools and business
aircraft
o #1 SBA lender
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Capital Finance Group
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o 25-plus years with international experience in the aerospace and rail
industries
o 200-plus aircrafts financed and new aircraft program with Boeing and Airbus
o 43,000-plus railcars, 350-plus locomotives financed
Other Business Groups
Vendor Technology Finance Group
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o Major vendor relationships through joint ventures, virtual joint ventures
and structured program agreements
o Dell Financial Services, Avaya Financial Services and Expanets Financial
Services relationships
o Global financing capabilities
Commercial Finance Group
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o Commercial Services: the country's largest and oldest factoring company
o Business Credit: significant player in the asset-based lending market
o Long heritage serving middle market companies facing debt restructuring,
acquisitions, recapitalizations and DIP financing
Consumer Finance Group
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o Home equity, RV and manufactured housing businesses
o Nationwide relationships with over 6,500 brokers, dealers, manufacturers and
electronic portals
o Online loan applications through CITEdge.com: BrokerEdge.com,
CITCustomerEdge.com, DealerEdge.com, CITOnLineBank.com
Structured Finance Group
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o CIT's merchant bank
o Provides private debt, leases, equity, underwriter and advisory services
o Global reach
o Syndication capabilities
Future Guidance
In closing Investor Day, Gamper said, "We have strong confidence in our business
prospects as we concentrate on our key priorities. Our priorities are building
out our strategic businesses that have strong growth prospects and good returns,
reducing our non-strategic businesses, reducing our leverage and focusing on
credit quality and quality earnings.
"The execution of these strategies in a softer economy leads us to believe we
will see organic earnings growth in the range of 8 percent for 2001, while the
strength of our core businesses indicates we will then be positioned to return
to our traditional growth rate of 13 percent or above in succeeding years, and
to achieve improved returns on equity," Gamper noted. "Business volumes have
slowed and we expect our credit markers to be stable, leading to expectations
that our fourth quarter earnings should match or slightly exceed the third
quarter."
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Live Web Cast of Investor Day
The meeting was broadcast live via the company's Web site (www.cit.com)
beginning at 8:30 am (EST) and ending at 3:00 pm (EST) on Friday, December 1.
The Web cast has also been archived.
About CIT
CIT is a leading diversified finance company offering vendor, equipment,
commercial, factoring, consumer and structured financing capabilities. CIT
operates extensively in the United States and Canada with strategic locations in
Europe, Latin and South America, and the Pacific Rim. CIT has been in business
since 1908 and is recognized as a leader in many of the markets it serves. For
more information on CIT, visit the Web site at www.cit.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in these presentations that are not historical facts may
constitute "forward-looking" statements, as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the
current views of the Company and its management. The Company's actual results or
performance may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such
forward-looking statements, due to various risks and uncertainties identified
more fully in the beginning of our 1999 Form 10K. The Company does not undertake
to update any forward-looking statements.
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Media Contacts Investor Relations Contact
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Joan Russo James J. Egan, Jr.
CIT CIT
(973) 740-5437 (973) 535-5911
or
Sammie Becker/Joseph LoBello
Stanton Crenshaw Communications
(212)-780-1900
