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Jeffrey M. Peek is stepping down as the CIT Group CEO

By Hendrik L Clarke for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:October 14, 2009

Jeffrey M. Peek is stepping down as the CIT Group’s (NYSE:CIT) chief at the end of this year. The stock market did not like the news, as CIT’s shares fell below $1 for the first time since the company began negotiating with creditors to stave off bankruptcy in July.

The resignation doesn’t come as a major surprise since a group of bondholders began asserting more power at the nearly century-old commercial lender. Those investors, which include Silver Point Capital LP and Oaktree Capital Management LP, pumped $3 billion into CIT in July and immediately seized influence over the company’s board.

When CIT announced a sweeping restructuring plan at the beginning of October, one person familiar with the situation said Peek would stay to complete the restructuring, but his future remained unclear after that. On Tuesday, a second person said key bondholders expected CIT’s fate to be resolved by the end of this year.

He said that “now is the appropriate time to focus on a transition of leadership” in a statement, but there has been speculation Peek would lose his job since bondholers launched a plan to restructure about $31 billion in debt. As of Tuesday, that restructuring plan seemed destined to fail and the company now teeters on the edge of seeking bankruptcy protection, according to Dow Jones.

Prior to joining CIT, Peek was Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston, LLC (CSFB) and was responsible for the firm’s Financial Services Division, including Credit Suisse Asset Management, Pershing, and Private Client Services. He was on the Group Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group as well as a member of CSFB’s Executive Board and Operating Committee. Before joining CSFB in 2002, Peek was with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. for nearly 20 years. While there, he rose to the level of Executive Vice President of Merrill Lynch and was President of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. He also served on the Executive Management Committee of Merrill Lynch.

Peek is a graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, where he received a BA in International Affairs. He also received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Peek is Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University and serves as a member of the New York Public Library President’s Council and on the Board of Directors and Chairman’s Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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