It was big news when CIT announced it had lined up $3 billion in emergency financing from bondholders. Some may have assumed that meant the historic lender was out of the woods, but that would be a premature conclusion. The first step is a tender offer for outstanding senior notes. If the tender fails, the company will be right back on the brink.

CIT's floating-rate notes due in August were trading at around 88 cents on the dollar Tuesday, compared to the company's offer of 82.5 cents--a sign that bondholders were likely to hold out for a higher price, Reuters reports. Even if the bank does succeed in recapitalizing, there are no guarantees. One bond trader told the news service, "A lot of people out there think this could be just a band-aid. These guys aren't out of the woods yet, and I don't think anybody believes they are." CIT's CDS spreads widened. 

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CIT Group Inc.