Ellen Alemany

After facing a landmark sexual harassment lawsuit in the mid-1990s, the banking industry has improved its codes of conduct and training on sexual harassment issues, CIT Chief Executive Ellen Alemany said during a panel discussion Wednesday morning.

The New York company named two new members to its executive committee as it splits oversight of business capital and consumer banking into separate jobs.

The sale of the struggling Financial Freedom unit to an undisclosed buyer would continue CIT's strategy of shedding noncore business lines.

Long before she set out to reshape CIT Group, Ellen Alemany accepted her first job as a bank CEO — on the eve of the mortgage meltdown. A big lesson that has stuck with her since then is the importance of communicating clearly and constantly with employees.

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