Credit Online, Inc., a member of the First American Corporation, announced May 20 that Triad Financial Corporation, a national automotive finance company, has "gone live" on its CreditOnline Network, an e-commerce service providing high-speed electronic links that connect lenders with auto dealers, credit bureaus and other lenders.

According to the company, similar to an ATM network, the CreditOnline Network enables businesses of all sizes to evaluate the credit worthiness of their prospective customers and electronically route credit applications via the Internet to participating lenders and finance companies. In addition, the company says the Network provides a single interface into a lender's credit processing system and allows it to accept credit applications from many sources electronically, including the lender's Web site, participating dealers' Web sites and other consumer Web sites. The Network also has the capability of exchanging credit applications and decisions among lenders.

Triad Financial provides non-prime lending for new and late-model used automobile purchases. By going live on the Network, Triad says they can now receive loan applications from dealers online. Triad can also return decisions to dealers online.

"The electronic connectivity of the CreditOnline Network will help our CreditConnection dealers better manage their application flow," said Jack Fernandez, Triad's chief operating officer. "Our job, as a lender, is to deliver products and services that satisfy dealer demands. Joining CreditConnection is one way of telling dealers we are listening."

"We're very pleased that Triad Financial can now connect to their dealers through the CreditOnline Network," said Howard L. Tischler, Credit Online's president and CEO. "Adding Triad to our extensive list of participating lenders reinforces our Network's position as one of the largest business-to-business marketplaces today." Currently, the company says the Network consists of more than 30 prime and nonprime banks and finance companies located throughout the United States and Canada.

About Credit Online, Inc.

Credit Online is the e-commerce subsidiary of First American CMSI. The company says it credit enables business-to-business transactions through its Internet gateway. Headquartered in Annapolis Junction, Md, the company also licenses credit-decisioning systems for consumer and business credit. For more information, visit www.cmsinc.com.

About The First American Corporation

As a provider of business information, the First American Corporation says it supplies businesses and consumers with information resources that affect major economic events. The First American Family of Companies operate within seven primary business segments. For more information, visit www.firstam.com.

About Triad Financial

Triad Financial is a nonprime auto finance company focusing on new and late model used automobile purchases through a national network of 7,500 dealers in 32 states. Triad is headquartered in Southern California and maintains three regional centers in Huntington Beach, Calif., Ft. Worth, Texas and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Triad Financial is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Credit. For more information, visit www.triadfinancial.com.