American Banker, 9/17/96 CHASE TO OFFER DEALERSHIPS AUTO LOAN DECISIONS OVER INTERNET Chase Manhattan Corp.'s auto financing division has begun using the Internet to provide dealerships with loan-approval decisions. The bank is the first of eight financial institutions that have committed to using the system, developed by IBM Corp. By computerizing loan applications and sending data electronically, Chase officials said the bank can grant approvals in as few as two minutes. Up to 50% of the division's auto loans will be running through the system within the next 18 months. Chase, the largest car lender not affiliated with a car company, is connected to six dealerships currently using the system and will establish connections to 100 dealers with the official introduction in October. Other financial institutions planning to use the on-line system include NationsBank Corp., G.E. Capital Auto Financial Services Inc., Regions Financial Corp., and Citibank Puerto Rico. The dealer's computer is connected to the Internet through the IBM Globa l Network, which is also used to retrieve an encrypted report from a credit bureau. The dealer's pre-established "key" decodes the report and causes the screen to display one, two, or three stars -- representing poor, fair, or good credit. This gives the dealer an idea of which financial institutions are most likely to approve the loan. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps