CIT plans board additions after debt exchange

* Board of directors to increase by three, to 13

* CIT hires search firm Spencer Stuart

NEW YORK Oct 5 (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc (CIT.N), which launched a debt exchange last week in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, will increase its board to 13 directors from 10 after the exchange, according to a regulatory filing.

Following a request from its steering committee of lenders, the 101-year-old commercial lender hired search firm Spencer Stuart to help it find board candidates, CIT said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Oct. 2.

The steering committee will select candidates from a list compiled by Spencer Stuart and will make recommendations to the board's nominating and governance committee, CIT said in the filing.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which has barred CIT's bank unit from accepting new deposits, will also review the candidates, according to the filing.

CIT, which lends to small and medium-sized companies, asked bondholders last week to approve a prepackaged plan of reorganization that would allow it to initiate a voluntary filing under Chapter 11 if the debt exchange fails.

The board will also expand to 13 directors if the exchange offer fails and the company restructures, according to the filing. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)