By Dan Wilchins and Karen Brettell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc (CIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it drew down $7.3 billion of bank lines to help fund daily operations, highlighting the commercial finance company's struggle to raise cash to pay off debt.

CIT shares plummeted 17.3 percent to close at $9.63 a share. The shares are more than 80 percent below their record high of $61.46 set last June 1.

The bank lines should satisfy CIT's financing needs for the rest of the year, assuming it can sell off and manage assets as expected, said Joe Leone, CIT's chief financial officer, on a conference call.

"It is comforting to hear CIT say that, but a lot depends on what assets they sell and if they get decent prices for the assets they sell. If they can't get good prices, it would weaken their capital base," said David Chiaverini, analyst at BMO Capital Markets in New York who rates CIT "market perform."

"The concern is their ability to fund their business in this environment."

The stock market has stabilized since the Federal Reserve cut rates and made financing available to investment banks, but U.S. Treasury bill rates are at their lowest levels since the 1950s, signaling that investors are still jittery.

CIT is one of a legion of finance companies that have struggled to issue debt as the U.S. credit crunch wears on. The company has $90 billion of assets, of which more than $9 billion is subprime mortgages.

CIT, a 100-year old company, finances everything from aircraft to businesses' unpaid client bills to telecommunications equipment. CEO Jeff Peek is scaling back CIT's exposure to consumer lending and focusing on its commercial lending business.