Despite having some well-connected help on its side, troubled lender CIT Group Inc. was unable to secure assistance from the government in its bid to stay solvent.

The lender had for its advisers Ruth Porat, who heads the financial institutions group at Morgan Stanley, and Roger Altman, the founder of Evercore Partners Inc. Last fall, Porat advised the Federal Reserve on its assessment of troubled insurer American International Group Inc. as well as the U.S. Treasury on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts. Altman, of course, is a former U.S. deputy Treasury secretary under President Clinton.

But their interventions on behalf of CIT yielded few results.

"It was perplexing," says a source close to negotiations. "There was clearly a split in Washington."

According to this source, both the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department were open to allowing CIT access to new sources of funding, including its bank in Utah. But the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., CIT's main regulator, ultimately balked.

By July 15, it became apparent that no help would be coming. The company then embarked on what one source calls "a 48-hour scramble" and lined up a group of six of its largest bondholders, Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC, Oaktree Capital Management LP, Silver Point Capital, Centerbridge Partners LP, Capital Research and Management Co. and Baupost Group, for a $3 billion loan. The money will allow the company to pay down a $1.1 billion bond issue due in mid-August.

CIT had been struggling for months, but things came to a head when The Wall Street Journal reported that the company had hired Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for restructuring advice. The news spurred speculation of an imminent bankruptcy filing and contributed to a run on CIT by borrowers looking to lock up financing. Leading Skadden's team is Martha E. McGarry, who specializes in international M&A, private equity and corporate finance, and William J. Sweet Jr., who heads Skadden's financial institutions advisory practice. Also working with the team is restructuring specialist Galardi.

Along with Porat, Morgan Stanley's team included James Kilman, Jim Head, Tom Cahill Jr., Matt Salvner and Scott Ashby. Sources say Morgan Stanley got the assignment in June after J.P. Morgan dropped out, citing unspecified conflicts of interest. According to one source, J.P. Morgan had consulted with CIT since spring 2008.

In addition to Altman, Evercore's team consisted of David Ying and William Hiltz. Sources say that Altman has a close relationship with CIT CEO Jeffrey Peek, who previously worked at Credit Suisse Group and Merrill Lynch & Co.