AUSTIN, Texas – Teres Solutions, a provider of indirect lending software to credit unions, is joining forces with another Texas tech firm to help CUs provide members with balloon loans for their next vehicle purchase. Long popular for home mortgages, balloon loans provide a lower interest, and payments, for a set period of time, after which an option kicks in for refinancing at existing rates or purchasing the vehicle. Teres Solutions is joining with Houston-based Auto Financial Group Inc., to offer a new software module called SAIL Balloon. It will interface seamlessly with the Houston company's DrivingSense software to allow CUs to offer consumers the loan option through existing lending programs, the companies said. SAIL stands for Software Application for Integrated Lending and is Teres' flagship solution. It automates loan processing steps and streamlines tracking and reporting functions. DrivingSense is an online residual-based auto financing software solution that allows credit unions to "build" a vehicle for their members and compare payment terms across a number of payment options. It also aims to remove the financial risk of offering balloon loans by guaranteeing the predetermined residual value of the vehicle through third-party insurance as well has handling the car, SUV or truck's eventual disposition, according to Auto Financial Group. Bruce Callen, president of Teres Solutions, says credit unions using the SAIL solution already can deploy the balloon option with a simple update to their existing Teres software. "Together, Teres Solutions and Auto Financial Group are making it much easier for credit unions to offer balloon loans through their existing indirect lending programs," Callen says. "Customers using SAIL Indirect and the DrivingSense software in concert quickly benefit by increasing their lending business and strengthening relationships with automobile dealers as well as lenders," Callen says.