Ward Harrington , CIT Small Business Lending CorporationTillie O'Brien , The Business Partners

SAN FRANCISCO , CA , June 20 , 2000 – CIT Small Business Lending Corporation announced today that Ward Harrington has joined the company as Regional Account Manager in the San Francisco Bay Area.CIT is one of the nation's largest lenders providing Small Business Administration ( SBA ) loans.Mr. Harrington brings a wealth of small business lending experience to his new position.A lender for the past two decades , he joins CIT from Bank United.He was also Director of SBA Lending with Fremont Bank for six years.Mr. Harrington is an expert in SBA lending , having worked for the Small Business Administration in San Francisco , Phoenix and Philadelphia.Mr. Harrington is a member of the board of directors for the Bay Area Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders and a member of the loan committee of NorCal Financial Development Corporation and the California Association of Business Brokers.He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College and a Commercial Credit Analysis Certification from the Small Business Administration.Mr. Harrington may be reached at Tel : ( 415 ) 759-0322 , Fax : ( 415 ) 759-0327 and Email : Ward.Harrington@cit.com.CIT Small Business Lending offers Small Business Administration lending , construction lending , acquisition financing and equipment financing.The company's web site and on-line loan application , EZApp , are located at www.smallbizlending.com.It is the small business lending unit of The CIT Group , Inc. ( NYSE : CIT , TSE : CIT.U ) , a $53 billion asset based lender to businesses and consumers throughout the U.S..# # #