Vertical Lend, an innovative lending resource for financial professional service providers, has received approval by the New York State's Board of Public Accountancy (New York State Education Department), to offer a continuing professional education program for certified public accountants. "Mortgage Lending Basics" is a five-credit course designed to increase a New York CPA's knowledge, competence, and confidence levels about mortgage lending. According to David Peskin, the

President of Vertical Lend, this is a five-hour course, usually offered in a single session, followed up by a short exam. It falls under the "Specialized Knowledge and Applications Related To Specialized Industries" requirement.

Mr. Peskin continued by saying, "Vertical Lend is in the process of developing additional programs for CPA's in other states, as well as developing training/education programs for other financial professionals."

In 1999, the Uniform Accountancy Act was reformed by Congress. This reform granted accountants the authority to be legally compensated for providing additional services such as financial planning, insurance, and mortgage products. Beyond creating new income stream opportunities, it makes sense for a CPA to become a comprehensive financial services provider as a convenience to their client.

Mr. Peskin explained that: "More CPA's continue to diversify their practice by offering lender capabilities and solutions. Since its inception in 1999 Vertical Lend has rapidly grown, and now has more than 1,300 Associates enrolled, mainly accountants and tax professionals. Each month more financial professionals sign onto the network."

Becoming a Vertical Lend member enables a financial professional to draw on a suite of lending solutions that includes: residential mortgages, small business loans, business lines of credit, and commercial mortgages. Vertical Lend has an extensive range of training tools such as on-line introductory training, educational materials, product information, stock advertising, and financial calculators. The company is committed to enhancing a financial professional's relationship with consumers with the goal of providing quality advice, better loan execution and exception customer service through personal attention. Vertical Lend and its affiliated business unit, Mortgage Warehouse, are based in Melville, New York. The company is ranked by Newsday as the second largest mortgage brokerage organization in the Long Island region. Since its establishment in 1996, Mortgage Warehouse and Vertical Lend have closed over $1 billion in loans.