Business

CIT fee for JCP vendors

Doing business with JCPenney will cost a little extra from now on.

CIT, a major lender to smaller clothing suppliers, will tack a 1 percent surcharge onto loans it makes to finance apparel deliveries to the struggling retailer, sources told The Post.

The clampdown, which takes effect April 1, follows a similar surcharge imposed several weeks ago by a trade-lending arm at Wells Fargo, according to industry insiders.

Wells Fargo took its action prior to Feb. 24, a source said, when Penney revealed a disastrous fourth-quarter loss of $552 million as comparable sales plunged 32 percent.

CEO Ron Johnson’s bold turnaround strategy at Penney has backfired badly. The retailer also disclosed last month it delayed payments to vendors in a bid to shore up its balance sheet.

Some analysts estimated the late payments totaled as much as $340 million.

Penney, sources added, also lately has sought to stretch out its trade-payment cycle by delaying recognition of inventory deliveries by as much as 30 days.

Penney shares closed yesterday at $15.39, down 1.7 percent.