The crisis at CIT, one of the largest US middle-market lenders, worsened yesterday as the company remained in talks with regulators over potential solutions to bolster its balance sheet and Moody's cut its credit rating deeper into junk territory.

Shares in CIT tumbled by 19.6 per cent in morning trade yesterday after a 17.7 per cent drop on Friday. Bonds issued by CIT and maturing in August were trading at 77 cents on the dollar.

The company is pressing regulators to end a six-month wait and allow it to issue government-backed bonds in an effort to allay mounting concerns over its financial health. The lender is also trying to win regulatory permission to transfer assets into its bank subsidiary to improve liquidity, CIT said yesterday, adding that it could make no assurances that either avenue would prove successful.