I'd be willing to bet that there is more than one firm, either another financial institution or maybe a private equity firm that will be willing to buy all or parts of CIT for a deep discount on it's recent equity value.

That's not to say that CIT will continue to lend in all the industries and on the same terms that it has until recently. My guess is that a new owner will cut back or eliminate doing business with riskier borrowers, in riskier industries or using riskier loan structures--like continuing to lend to small businesses, as an example--or will dramatically increase the cost of borrowing money from them.

What a new owner is buying is the staff and the asset origination capability of CIT, which is significant. At a deep enough discount a new owner would have plenty of time to make the changes that would return CIT to a less risky and more profitable business model.