CIT announced that Jonathan (Jon) A. Lucas has been named president of CIT Trade Finance effective July 2, 2012, following the retirement of current CIT Trade Finance president John F. Daly on June 29, 2012. Lucas will report directly to Nelson Chai, president of CIT.

“Jon has played an important role within CIT Trade Finance over the past 15 years and I am confident in his ability to lead and grow this business,” said Chai. “As one of the largest providers of factoring services in the United States, Jon and his team will continue to develop tailored factoring and financing solutions for consumer product companies in all stages of the business cycle. I look forward to working with him more closely in the future.”

Over his career, Lucas has worked with hundreds of middle-market companies and their advisors to develop secured financing and factoring solutions to meet their business needs. Lucas most recently served as chief sales officer of CIT Trade Finance. Prior to that, Lucas held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in CIT Trade Finance in which he was responsible for client service and retention, business development and client credit quality. Prior to joining CIT, Lucas developed middle-market lending solutions for corporate borrowers while at Fleet Bank and Chemical Bank.

Daly has served as president of CIT Trade Finance since 1999. Prior to this, he was executive vice president and senior credit officer of CIT Trade Finance and served in various other senior management positions since joining CIT in 1987. Daly began his factoring career in 1973 with Manufacturers Hanover Commercial, one of several predecessor companies to CIT.

“John’s leadership and invaluable contributions over the years have maintained CIT’s position as a leading provider of factoring in the United States,” said John Thain, chairman and chief executive officer of CIT. “Drawing on nearly four decades of experience in factoring, credit administration and secured lending, John has worked tirelessly with manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and their retail customers throughout his career and has established himself as the “Dean of Factoring.” I wish John the very best in his upcoming retirement and thank him for his years of committed service to CIT and our clients.”