CIT Group Inc, the troubled American bank, has signed a $3 billion deal with a group of bondholder in the hope of shunning bankruptcy by restructuring some of its debt payments.

The bondholder group is said to supply the financing for the time span of two and a half year.

CIT lends to small as-well-as medium-sized businesses, which will lose their key source of credit in case the CIT fails.

As per CreditSights, an independent research firm, CIT is burdened with a long-term debt worth about $40 billion, out of which $1.1 billion of debt will come due in August and $2.5 billion will come due by the end of 2009.

Earlier, CIT's talks with the US government failed when Obama administration declined help, leaving the company at the mercy of private investors.

CIT's Chief Executive Jeffrey Peek's decision to enter the subprime mortgages and student loans also landed the company into hot waters.

CIT's spokesman, Curt Ritter declined to comment.

In the recent trading, CIT closed at 70 cents a share, up 71 percent at NYSE.