AUSTIN, Texas – First Lenders Data Inc. (FLDI) and Western Reliance Corp. have expanded their strategic alliance that offers bundled vendor management and insurance services technology platforms to credit unions and other financial institutions. FLDI already was providing vendor management and other services to in a deal announced last July with Western Reliance, a provider of collateral protection and other ancillary insurance products to more than 400 clients. The bundled services now will also include credit reports, automated valuation models, appraisals, flood certifications, vesting and lien reports and income verification through MorClose, a licensed version of FLDI's FirstClose vendor management platform, the companies say. "Our one-stop vendor management platform saves our lending partners time and resources that can be better used to further boost customer service," says Mike Kehoe, president of 400-client Western Reliance in Portland, Ore. "Our alliance with Western Reliance is focused on helping financial institutions enhance their own marketability so they can better compete against some of the giants in the lending industry," says Tedd Smith, CEO of Austin-based FLDI.