CIT Gets Online Banking Religion

The last few years have not been good to the CIT Group.

The finance company’s bad bets on subprime mortgage finance, among other asset classes, put it on the brink of oblivion. That scare continues to mold CIT’s actions, as evidenced by the $700 million or so of student loans being put in its “held for sale” bucket last quarter, according to the company’s earnings release today.

So now when CIT tries something new, it must be viewed as a sure thing internally. And what is that new sure thing? Online deposits.

Tucked into CIT’s earnings call today was news that the GE Capital-wannabe will start an online deposit gathering initiative “later this year” through its CIT Bank. CIT officials see online deposits as “an attractive way” to secure “significant deposits at a relatively low cost.”

CIT has a market capitalization of about $8.2 billion.

This initiative, details of which were sketchy, is all about cost. CIT sees online deposits as cheap and of low risk. CIT said to realize its goals it did not need to bring in outside service or even to make an acquisition, which raises questions about Capital One’s decision to buy ING Direct recently. CIT is not exactly known for its technology and marketing prowess, yet it sees ease in online deposit gathering. Did Cap One truly need to buy ING Direct for $9 billion to achieve its online banking goals?

That’s a question for another time. Meanwhile, consider CIT’s move into online deposits as evidence that any FI can do it. And probably will.