CENTRIX Financial on Jan. 28 announced it has signed an agreement with RouteOne LLC to provide financial services through the Web venture’s credit application management system.

CENTRIX specializes in the area of special auto financing, providing services to dealerships and consumers across the country. Its programs allow dealers to safely and profitably expand their services to the growing credit-impaired population, while providing those consumers with a fair and empowering financing experience. “RouteOne is precisely the type of partner we look to be associated with -- an innovative company with a national reach and reputation,” said Robert E. Sutton, chairman and CEO of CENTRIX. “Their dedication to service and efficiency is a perfect complement to the ideals we have always operated on.”

Through RouteOne, dealers will have a common platform for submitting credit application information to the multiple finance sources such as Centrix with which they do business. Automotive dealers and their finance sources can exchange credit application and credit decision information in real-time using RouteOne’s Web-based network.

Finance source response time is dramatically improved from hours to minutes, and the status of pending credit applications can be determined with just a click of a mouse, according to RouteOne. Additionally, customer satisfaction may be increased as a result of less time spent in the F&I office.

“The addition of CENTRIX Financial to the RouteOne system is huge for us,” said Mike Jurecki, CEO of RouteOne. “Dealers served by CENTRIX will be able to obtain fast and efficient online financing. The addition of CENTRIX Financial certainly strengthens our lineup of premier automotive finance companies.”

DaimlerChrysler Services, Ford Motor Credit Co., GMAC, and Toyota Financial Services formed RouteOne in 2002 to create a more streamlined credit application process for automobile dealers and their customers.

About RouteOne

Established in April 2002, RouteOne LLC is a joint venture formed by DaimlerChrysler Services, Ford Motor Credit Co., General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Toyota Financial Services to improve the credit application process for automobile dealers, their customers, and participating financial institutions.

The joint venture is developing a Web-based system that will enable dealers and their finance sources, including captives, banks, and other financial institutions, to exchange credit application and decision information online.

More information is available at www.routeone.com.

About CENTRIX Financial, LLC

Founded in 1990, Denver-based CENTRIX Financial’s special auto finance programs have helped to put more than 70,000 vehicles on the road in the last five years alone.

In 1998, the company’s CEO, Robert E. Sutton, introduced a new business model that was designed to address the shortcomings in traditional approaches to the special finance market.

CENTRIX says it is leading the evolution of the auto finance industry. For financial institutions, the company says its programs have brought a previously unknown level of security and profitability to the $200 billion special auto finance lending industry, while helping auto dealers find new ways to reach out to a clientele that represents more than 25 percent of their potential market.

Just as importantly, CENTRIX says it is providing an underserved consumer group the keys to new opportunities at competitive financing rates and with professional service.

Today, CENTRIX provides services across the country through agreements with more than 7,000 dealerships, has more than 550 employees and is managing a $1 billion loan portfolio.