What happened On Monday, CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) did extremely well for a company that will, technically, soon cease to exist. It is merging with First Citizens BancShares (OTC: FCNCB), and the combined company will retain the First Citizens branding and that company's ticker symbol. The merger, plus encouraging third-quarter results also released on Friday, strapped a rocket to CIT's stock. On Monday, against the backdrop of a gloomy market, investors continued to pile in, giving the shares an additional 5.3% boost. So what As with other banks, CIT's Q3 was far more encouraging than its coronavirus-afflicted Q2. Revenue was up considerably not only on a quarter-over-quarter basis (15%), but also on a year-over-year basis (4%). Image source: Getty Images. On the bottom line, the $83 million was miles better than the previous quarter's $98 million loss. Although the former was almost 60% lower than that of the year-ago quarter, it was far better than that expected by analysts tracking the stock. Again, like other banks this quarter, a considerable reduction in loan-loss provisions helped CIT enormously. After all, fears are receding -- sensibly or not -- that lenders will be hit by a big wave of pandemic-related defaults. Now what The First Citizens/CIT tie-up already felt like a pretty good bargain for shareholders of the latter bank. With the sector as a whole doing better than expected lately, sentiment is improving and the CIT's earnings beat/merger combination is very attractive for investors. 10 stocks we like better than CIT GroupWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and CIT Group wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 24, 2020 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source