(January 3 – 12:00 ET) – CIT Business Credit and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have formed a joint venture to offer asset-based lending to the Canadian market. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. CIT Business Credit is part of CIT Commercial Finance, an operating group of CIT Group Inc., based in Livingston, N.J.

The new venture, co-owned by CIT and CIBC, will be called CIT Business Credit Canada, Inc. and will be headquartered in Toronto. The president of the new company will be Dennis McCluskey, a senior executive with extensive experience in CIBC’s commercial banking group.

“Dennis has the ideal mix of client advocacy and risk management to make this venture a success for clients as well as CIT and CIBC,” said James McSherry, executive vice president and head of CIBC Commercial Banking.

“This joint venture presents CIT Business Credit with an immense opportunity to solidify our position as a leading asset-based lender in the North American market,” said Lawrence Marsiello, CEO of CIT Commercial Finance. “The new company will draw upon CIT’s depth and breadth of lending experience in the United States and extend it into Canada. CIT Business Credit is a relationship lender that specializes in customized financing packages. We believe that we can leverage CIT’s asset-based lending expertise with CIBC’s Canadian distribution network to provide working capital for a wide variety of middle market companies in Canada.”

“CIBC has a history of partnering with third parties that can add value to our clients,” said McSherry. “CIT Business Credit Canada’s expertise broadens both our financing capability and our potential market.”
-IE Staff