First Citizens BancShares, the parent company of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, and CIT Group , the parent company of CIT Bank, N.A., jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals to create the 19th largest bank in the United States based on assets.
The transformational partnership will create greater scale to drive growth, improve profitability and enhance stockholder value. The transaction brings together the complementary strengths of First Citizens’ low-cost retail deposit franchise and full suite of banking products with CIT’s national commercial lending expertise and strong market positions. In addition, it creates a more diversified deposit strategy with First Citizens’ 550+ full-service retail banking locations in key growth MSAs, including across the Southeast, and CIT’s rapidly growing homeowner association business, leading direct bank and complementary Southern California retail branch network.
Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, which was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, CIT stockholders will receive 0.0620 shares of First Citizens class A common stock for each share of CIT common stock they own. First Citizens stockholders will own approximately 61% and CIT stockholders will own approximately 39% of the combined company.
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The combined company will operate under the First Citizens name and will trade under the First Citizens ticker symbol FCNCA on the Nasdaq stock market. The combined company will be headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., and will maintain significant operation centers in New York, Pasadena, Omaha, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Fla., New Jersey and Columbia, S.C., among other locations.
Frank Holding, Jr., Chairman and CEO of First Citizens, will retain the same roles at the combined company. Ellen R. Alemany, Chairwoman and CEO of CIT, will assume the role of Vice Chairwoman and play a key role in the merger integration. In addition, she will serve on the Board of Directors of the combined company.
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