Commercial lender CIT Group Inc said it has given notice that it will prepay $500 million of its $3 billion senior secured first lien term loan on July 15, 2011.

CIT -- which emerged from one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history in December 2009 -- said, including the prepayment, it will have eliminated more than $10.5 billion of first lien and second lien debt since the beginning of 2010.

The prepayment will be made with available holding company cash and will not be subject to any call premium, the company said in a statement.

CIT, run by former Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain, has been cutting costs and selling assets to pay down high-cost debt left from the 2009 bankruptcy, while Thain seeks new, cheaper sources of financing.

Repaying high-cost debt results in early payment fees, but improves the company's future profitability and sets it up to grow again.

CIT's shares closed at $40.47 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Brenton Cordeiro; Editing by Joyjeet Das)