First Citizens BancShares, Inc., the parent company of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, and CIT Group Inc., the parent company of CIT Bank, N.A., jointly announced the two companies have agreed to extend the merger agreement from Oct. 15 to March 1, 2022.

Equipment Finance Advisor reported Oct. 16, 2020 that the banks had agreed to merge.

The merger has already received approval from the Office of the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Action by the Federal Reserve Board is the remaining regulatory approval required to complete the merger, and both parties are committed to continuing to seek such approval.

The parties have responded to all questions issued by the Staff of the Federal Reserve Board, and the Staff has informed the companies that they do not have further questions at this time. The parties have been informed that the application is presently at the Governor level. The Board of Governors has not provided a timeframe for its decision on the application.

When completed, the combined company will operate under the First Citizens name and establish a top 20 bank based on assets among U.S.-headquartered banks. The merger will bring together complementary strengths of both organizations with First Citizens' robust retail franchise and full suite of banking products and CIT's strong market positions, nationwide commercial lending franchise and direct online bank.