CIT says is looking at student loan stock deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc. (CIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is looking into a series of stock grants made by a student lending unit to financial aid officers at three major U.S. universities, the company's spokesman said on Thursday.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which is probing the $85 billion student loan industry, said on Wednesday it is investigating grants of stock from Education Lending Group to aid officers at three universities.

CIT acquired Education Lending Group in 2005. The transactions in question occurred prior to CIT's acquisition of the company, a CIT spokesman said in an e-mailed statement.

"We are currently seeking to determine the facts surrounding those transactions," the spokesman said.

Financial aid officials from Columbia University, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas owned at least 1,500 shares of Education Lending Group, as disclosed in a stock offering prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2003.

Student Loan Xpress, a unit of Education Lending Group, is a "preferred lender" at these schools.