CIT Group

What CIT Group does

Founded in 1908 as the Commercial Investment Trust Company, CIT Group historically operated as a commercial lender and diversified financial services firm. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2009 during the global financial crisis, emerged, and was subsequently acquired by First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) in 2021 for approximately $2.2 billion in stock. Following the acquisition, CIT Bank operates as a digital-first consumer banking division of First Citizens Bank & Trust Company, sharing FDIC Certificate ID 11063. First Citizens itself traces its operating heritage to 1899, giving the combined franchise 125 years of banking history. CIT Bank and CIT Commercial Services are both slated for rebrand/consolidation under the First Citizens parent brand in Q4 2026.

CIT Bank delivers retail banking services through a digital platform targeting individual consumers across the United States. The product line centers on deposits — Platinum Savings, Savings Connect (up to 3.65% APY), Money Market, Savings Builder, eChecking with Zelle, and a broad CD range (Term CDs at 3.75% APY 6-month and 2.75% APY 18-month, plus No-Penalty 11-Month, Jumbo, and RampUp variants) — supplemented by home loans, self-directed investing, and financial planning services. All products are sold and serviced through cit.com, mobile banking, and self-service onboarding at citbankapp.cit.com, with no physical branches. Underlying technology is described as a standard online-and-mobile banking platform with digital payment integrations rather than an AI-native stack.

Revenue is generated primarily via net interest income (the spread between deposit costs and yields on mortgages, home loans, and the asset-based lending book inherited from First Citizens' commercial operations), with supplementary deposit fees, CD early-withdrawal penalties, and asset-based lending service fees. Customer acquisition runs through direct-to-consumer digital channels with content marketing and SEO, positioning CIT Bank as a deposit-funded balance-sheet engine within the larger First Citizens franchise rather than an independently scaling fintech.

Name

CIT Group

Legal name

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company

Website

https://cit.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Founded in 1908, CIT Group operates today as CIT Bank, a digital-first consumer banking division of First Citizens Bank & Trust Company (FCNCA), offering high-yield savings, CDs, eChecking, home loans, and self-directed investing to individual U.S. consumers through its online and mobile platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Banking

NAICS

Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Savings Institutions and Other Depository Credit Intermediation (522180)

SIC

Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual / Digital-First Credit Cards (FSAKABAK)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• High yield savings
• Certificate of deposit products
• Digital consumer banking
• Home loan lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Net Interest Income: Traditional banking revenue from spread between interest paid on deposits and earned on loans including home mortgages and lending products
2. Deposit Fees and Charges: Fee income from account services including overdrafts, early withdrawals from CDs, and other account maintenance charges
3. Asset-Based Lending Services: Commercial lending services including inventory financing, receivables financing, and equipment financing for businesses (as part of broader First Citizens capabilities)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CIT Group, through its CIT Bank division of First Citizens Bank, provides digital-first consumer banking products including high-yield savings accounts, multiple certificate of deposit (CD) products, an electronic checking account, home loans, and self-directed investing services. All products are offered entirely online and through mobile channels, with competitive variable APY rates (e.g., up to 3.65% on Savings Connect and 3.75% on 6-month CDs) and FDIC insurance through First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company.

Product overview

CIT Bank offers a unified digital banking platform combining savings, checking, CD, lending, and investment products. The core offering centers on savings products (Platinum Savings, Money Market, Savings Connect, Savings Builder), certificates of deposit (Term CDs, No-Penalty CDs, Jumbo CDs, RampUp CDs), and eChecking accounts. Supplementary services include home loans, self-directed investing, and financial planning. All products are delivered through digital channels including online and mobile banking, with Zelle integration for payments and transfers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Platinum Savings: High-yield savings account product
• Savings Connect
• Money Market Account
• eChecking
• SmartSaver

Products and services

• Platinum Savings High-yield savings account with competitive interest rates for consumers building savings over time.
• Money Market Account Savings account that may offer checking-like features with competitive APY for individual consumers seeking liquidity and yield.
• Savings Connect Flexible savings account offering up to 3.65% APY designed for consumers reaching savings goals; $100 minimum opening deposit and variable rate.
• Savings Builder Savings account designed to help consumers build savings through consistent deposits and growth features.
• eChecking Electronic checking account for individual consumers with online and mobile banking access, Zelle integration, and digital payment capabilities.
• Term CDs Fixed-term certificates of deposit with guaranteed rates (e.g., 3.75% APY on 6-month, 2.75% APY on 18-month) for specific maturity periods; $1,000 minimum deposit and early-withdrawal penalties apply.
• No-Penalty 11-Month CD 11-month certificate of deposit that allows penalty-free early withdrawal after the initial 6 months, offering consumers liquidity flexibility with a competitive APY.
• Jumbo CDs Certificates of deposit with higher minimum deposit requirements offering enhanced rates for high-balance depositors.
• RampUp CDs CD product with escalating rates feature designed to help consumers grow savings over the life of the deposit.
• Home Loans Mortgage and home financing solutions for consumers purchasing residential real estate.
• Self-Directed Investing Investment platform allowing individual consumers to manage their own investment portfolios with educational support.
• Financial Planning Professional financial planning services to help individual consumers achieve long-term financial goals.
• Online Banking Digital banking platform enabling individual consumers to manage accounts, perform transfers, and conduct transactions through a web interface.
• Mobile Banking Mobile application enabling individual consumers to access accounts, perform transactions, deposit checks, and use Zelle for payments on smartphone devices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 3.65% APY on Savings Connect accounts
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ally Bank: Ally is a top digital-first US bank offering high-yield savings, CDs, eChecking, and mortgages with no physical branches, directly mirroring CIT Bank's product set and target consumer. Both compete on online APY leadership and digital UX.
• Marcus by Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs' Marcus is a digital deposit brand offering high-yield savings and CDs through no-branch delivery, competing for the same rate-sensitive online saver CIT targets. Both rely on parent-bank balance sheet strength to fund competitive APY offers.
• Discover Bank: Discover Bank offers online savings accounts and CDs as part of its direct-to-consumer deposit franchise, overlapping heavily with CIT Bank's product mix. Both compete head-to-head for digital CD and savings customers.
• Synchrony Bank: Synchrony Bank is one of the largest online deposit gatherers, offering high-yield savings, money market, and CDs that directly compete with CIT Bank's portfolio. Both serve rate-sensitive digital consumers seeking branchless alternatives.
• American Express National Bank: AmEx National Bank offers high-yield online savings and CDs via a branchless model, competing for the same FDIC-insured online saver persona as CIT Bank. Both rely on a powerful parent brand and competitive APY to attract deposits.
• Capital One 360 (Capital One Bank): Capital One 360 is a digital banking platform offering savings, checking, and CDs that compete directly with CIT Bank's online deposit products. Both serve consumers migrating from brick-and-mortar banks to digital channels.
• SoFi Bank: SoFi operates a full-service digital bank (with a national bank charter) offering high-yield savings, checking, and consumer lending, directly competing with CIT Bank for digital-first consumer deposits and adding an investing/loans flywheel that pressures CIT's cross-sell economics.
• Barclays US Online Savings: Barclays' US online savings product is a tier-1 direct competitor for the same rate-seeking digital saver CIT targets, offering a branchless, FDIC-insured high-yield savings experience. Both compete predominantly on APY and digital onboarding.

Emerging players

• Wealthfront Cash: Wealthfront's Cash Account is a high-yield sweep/cash deposit product aimed at digitally-native savers, overlapping with CIT Bank's online savings persona. While narrower in product scope, it directly competes on rate and UX for the digital rate-sensitive deposit dollar.
• Emigrant Bank Direct: Emigrant Direct is a smaller FDIC-insured digital savings bank focused almost exclusively on high-yield online savings, making it a narrowly focused direct comparable to CIT Bank's savings-led digital deposit franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/citgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/CITGroup

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments69 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CIT Group