DS News - U.S. Bank

» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 91 locate them and help them to identify the best alternative for their particular situation." "I am very pleased to be working with Steve, Rose Marie, and all of the members of the firm," said Maza. "We have put together an all-star team that will make a very positive impact on the island." HMB is also a flagship sponsor of PR18, an upcoming industry conference that will gather industry and government leaders in Puerto Rico to help design the next phase of the rebuilding process. HUD Grant Speeds Up Puerto Rico Housing Recovery U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced the formal execution of a $1.5 billion grant agreement to help citizens in Puerto Rico to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, $1 billion of which will be allocated to rebuilding housing. According to HUD, the signing of this grant agreement now paves the way to speed recovery dollars needed to restore damaged and destroyed homes, businesses, and infrastructure. "Today, HUD and Puerto Rico are mov- ing forward to speed recovery on the island," said Secretary Carson. "Now that we have a framework in place, implementing Puerto Rico's disaster-recovery program can move full steam ahead." Part of the housing plan includes up to $120,000 to rebuild destroyed homes for each qualified homeowner and up to $48,000 to repair each eligible damaged property. "We are grateful for the great working relationship we have established with the De- partment of Housing and Urban Development and for their continuous consideration in terms of the housing, infrastructure, and economic revitalization needs of the American citizens living in Puerto Rico," said Governor Ricardo Rosselló. "e island continues to recover from the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, but with the trust and support of HUD, we will definitely rebuild better and stronger than ever. e People of Puerto Rico thank Secretary Ben Carson and Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude for their committed attention to the recovery of the island." Additionally, the plan will include $10 mil- lion in funding for rental assistance, specifical- ly for properties serving the elderly and other vulnerable households. Another $36 million has been proposed for the Home Emergency Resilience Program, which provides up to $6,000 per household for individual solar ap- pliances to help families. e grant is also intended to speed up economic revitalization and infrastructure, with grant amounts of $145 million and $100 million, respectively. TEXAS Mortgage Capital Trading Updates Security Protocols Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT), a Texas-based mortgage-hedge advisory and secondary-marketing software firm, has announced the implementation of multifac- tor authentication (MFA) security protocols, which require multiple methods to verify a user's identity for logins and transactions. "We live in an era where security sensitivi- ties and breaches are increasingly common occurrences within organizations and their technology stacks," says Phil Rasori, COO at MCT. "In order to most effectively protect our clients, their data and transactions, we felt that it was a prudent time to implement MFA into our MCTlive! secondary marketing software as a logical safeguard in order to maintain high levels of security." MCT's new MFA technology uses Google Authenticator for MCTlive! security where the user must not only log into the platform with their credentials but also receive a unique code from their mobile device that expires af- ter 30 seconds. MCTlive! password requisites have also been strengthened. MFA can be configured for particular MCTlive! users to be multifactor, or for oth- ers to have simpler, quicker password access. MCT puts the ease of internal controls in the hands of the lender when it comes to user logon and security, which is very granular. Detailed reporting can also be easily produced at any time which timestamps each user's login attempts and security methods used. "e security of our borrowers' informa- tion is paramount for First Bank, particularly with data breaches seeming to become more and more common," stated Andrew Stringer, Director of Secondary/Capital Markets at First Bank, an MCT client. "Multifactor authentication in MCTlive! adds an additional layer of protection that not only gives me peace of mind knowing our data is protected but also demonstrates proactive ways our secondary department is mitigating risk for the bank." Elena Delgado-Jenkins Elena@EPIC-Strategies.co EPIC-Strategies.co 800.875.0540 (o) 787.510.8354 (o) 901.461.9948 (c) With partners and offices in the U.S. and the Caribbean, E.P.I.C. Strategies is dedicated to providing top-notch real estate services and strategic planning for Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. With E.P.I.C., you get more than an agent—you get an ally. Extraordinary Properties. Intelligent Commerce. E.P.I.C. Strategies. E.P.I.C. REO-CERTIFIED EXPERTISE 2 6 Y E A R S O F E X P E R I E N C E W I T H A G E N T S I N A L L 5 0 S T A T E S

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