CIT Group Inc. won court approval Monday to access the full amount of $500 million in financing from Bank of America Corp. as it moves toward exiting bankruptcy by the end of the year.
Judge Allan Gropper of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan gave final approval to the $500 million letter-of-credit facility for CIT. The judge allowed the company to access $125 million of the financing at the start of its bankruptcy case.
Monday's hearing was CIT's second appearance in court since filing for bankruptcy Nov. 1 with a plan to quickly shed $10 billion in debt off its books through a deal with its bondholders.
The judge also gave final approval to an agreement between CIT and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the lead lender for a group of banks on a $750 million standby letter-of-credit facility for CIT. The deal is aimed at preserving the facility and allows JPMorgan Chase during the bankruptcy case to hold on to $100 million in cash collateral provided by CIT.
