CIT to pay down $2.1 billion bank line early

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Commercial lender CIT Group Inc (CIT.N) will pay down a $2.1 billion bank line later this week, three months before it comes due, the company said on Monday.

The early payment of the bank line signals that the company's funding problems are ebbing, after the credit crunch forced it to draw down on its full $7.3 billion of bank lines in March.

After the payment on July 30, CIT will have $5.2 billion of borrowing outstanding from its U.S. bank lines, maturing in April 2009, April 2010 and December 2011.

CIT has struggled to raise funds to pay back billions of dollars of maturing debt, and earlier this month posted a $2.1 billion quarterly loss. But it has also shed $10 billion of mortgage assets and borrowed in the secured bond markets, reducing concerns about its ability to pay back its maturing debt.

CIT shares have fallen 65 percent this year. They closed at $8.13 on Friday.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)