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The action by the firm, with assets of 71 billion dollars and liabilities of 64.9 billion dollars, "will allow CIT to continue to provide funding to our small business and middle-market customers," chief executive Jeffrey Peek said.

All CIT subsidiaries including CIT Bank will continue operating and are unaffected by the reorganisation attempt.

The bankruptcy, which was expected, follows an arrangement last week for 3 billion dollars in emergency financing from billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

CIT, which previously 2.3 billion dollars in emergency loans from the US government, was closely watched as it struggled to stay afloat, because of its key economic position as a major lender to small businesses in the US.