MELVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 5, 2001 (Pro2Net) - Lending portal Vertical Lend Inc. has hooked up with Tax And Accounting Software Corp., a Tulsa, Okla.-based maker of tax preparation software known as Taasc, to develop a software module that will enable Taasc users to offer loan products.

Vertical Lend, formerly known as Mortgage Warehouse, is based on a phenomena that has become widespread throughout the financial services industry: rather than going directly to the retail market with its offering, the firm targets their advisors, including accountants and tax professionals, as a distribution channel. More than 700 advisors have signed on for the program so far, according to the company.

"Financial professionals have close, established relationships with their customers and are frequently asked to provide advice for obtaining different types of loans," said David Peskin, Vertical Lend chief executive. "Vertical Lend enables them to serve as a trusted provider of lending solutions without referring customers to a potential competitor such as a large bank. We believe that customers are receiving better advice and making more informed decisions by using a financial professional such as an accountant, insurance agent or financial planner."

Under Vertical Lend's program, financial professionals offer loan products, such as residential mortgages and business loans from national lenders including ABN AMRO, Allied Capital and Chase, directly to their customers and keep a cut of the fee. Advisors are teamed with a dedicated loan specialist from Vertical Lend to walk them through the process.

As part of the agreement with Taasc, Vertical Lend will develop a proprietary, private label software module that will enable Taasc users to pre-populate and submit loan applications for approval directly accessing Vertical Lend's back-office on behalf of their customers. Taasc will market the Vertical Lend program to its customer base as an integrated, value-added service.

"The tax professional is well suited to offer loan products to their customer base because of their established customer relationships and access to information," said Tim Redmond, executive vice president for Taasc. "The lending module that we are jointly developing with Vertical Lend creates a significant opportunity for our customers to broaden their services and earn additional income."

Since October, Taasc has launched a Web site creation and hosting service, added an online organizer to its product line, and expanded its online tax service, preptax.com, to serve individual taxpayers who prepare their own returns.
-- Pro2Net News Staff