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126 CALIFORNIA MCT Moves to Secure Sensitive Borrower Data Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT), a San Diego-based mortgage hedge advisory and secondary marketing software firm, an- nounced that it is incorporating the company's patent-pending geocoding technology into its Bid Auction Manager (BAM) whole loan trading platform in order to shield borrower addresses from being shared with non-buying entities throughout the whole loan bidding process. "Concealing borrower addresses for whole loan bids is the most recent step that MCT is taking to heighten data security while protecting borrowers and lenders," said Phil Rasori, COO and Head Trader at MCT. "We estimate that upwards of 90 percent of all secondary marketing transactions expose borrower addresses to non-buying bidders. e only investor that should eventually see the property address is the one that wins the loan. MCT's proprietary BAM Geocoder enables investors to price LMI-CRA incentives with- out the address." Historically, only a handful of non-identi- fying data points were used to determine loan pricing in the secondary market. However, the advent of Community Reinvestment Act requirements and spec pay-ups combined with the rapid adoption of delivery via bid tapes resulted in the full property address being disclosed to bidders in the majority of transac- tions executed over the last several years. While clear contract terms typically govern borrower data usage for the whole loan buyer and seller, they generally fail to address the non-buying bidders, according to a review of MCT's lender clients. is can be a sensitive area for some parties, in particular for EPO (early pay off) and servicing pre-payments, as refinancing terms do not take into account safeguards for borrower loan data during the bidding process. Rasori added, "Ensuring that our systems and processes are as secure as possible is always of the highest importance. We are confident that this new level of protection will become the standard in the near future, and we're proud to lead the industry in this direction." Notable is that MCT recently implemented multi-factor authentication security protocols into its MCTlive! capital markets software, requiring multiple methods to verify a user's identity for logins and transactions. In July of 2017, MCT officially rolled out its award- winning BAM platform, in part, to migrate sensitive borrower data contained in bid tapes off of email to a centralized, secure platform. Company officials at MCT say that the geocode-enabled conversion process has already begun with investors; addresses will be completely removed from all MCT bid tapes by 2019. Equator Launches Mortgage-Servicing Blockchain Solution Equator, a California-headquartered Altisource business unit and a provider of residential loan default software and market- ing solutions for many of the country's top servicers, real estate agents, and vendors, has announced an agreement with Factom, Inc. to integrate the Factom Harmony blockchain- as-a-service (BaaS) platform into the Equator PRO solution. Equator PRO is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps servicers increase ef- ficiency and vendor oversight across the default servicing process. Designed for all portfolio sizes, the Equator PRO product suite of loan management, loan modification, short sale/ deed-in-lieu, foreclosure/bankruptcy, and real- estate-owned (REO) focused products, provides servicers with tools to help manage defaulted loans and REO and make more strategic and cost-efficient default servicing decisions. Factom's Harmony BaaS platform har- nesses the power of blockchain to create an immutable record of activities, data, events, and decisions. Factom's blockchain solutions will provide a distributed mechanism to pre- serve data, files, and digital records, making them verifiable and independently auditable. "Equator is committed to delivering technology that provides transparency and compliance throughout the default process," said Patrick G. McClain, SVP of Equator and Hubzu Auction Services for Altisource. "Incorporating Factom's blockchain tools will support our customers' compliance obliga- tions. At Equator, we are regularly working to improve and advance our default servicing technology, and adding cutting-edge tools like Factom's Harmony is another example of our continued leadership." e addition of Factom's Harmony pro- vides Equator customers the opportunity to in- corporate the recordation of data, documents, and key audit events onto Factom's blockchain solution. Factom's Harmony provides options for individual loans to be tracked as individual chains of data on the blockchain. is design allows Equator PRO customers the option to embed blockchain preservation into their vari- ous workflows, allowing for an immutable and encrypted blockchain audit record to be built for each loan and each workflow step. "At Factom, we know a practical block- chain solution is needed to specifically deal with complex business data and documents," said Laurie Pyle, COO of Factom. "We look forward to working with Equator, who shares the vision of using blockchain technology to bring transparency and efficiency to the default servicing process." Equator PRO with Harmony offers a blockchain technology solution to help address the complexities of the default mortgage pro- cess. e combination of Equator's powerful workflow technology and Factom's blockchain offers default mortgage participants the op- portunity for enhanced tracking, management, and collaboration within the default servicing process. In this model, each party retains their documents, files, and data securely within their data centers while providing confidence in the integrity of the information being shared and accessed. Figure Helps Homeowners Leverage Home Equity for Retirement Figure Technologies, Inc. (Figure), a California-based fintech company creating products and tools that empower homeowners to improve their finances, has announced Fig- ure Home Advantage, a sell-and-leaseback al- ternative to reverse mortgages for retirees and a new way for Baby Boomers to lock in record housing prices as they plan their retirement. With Figure Home Advantage, homeowners convert their home equity into cash they can put to use now while continuing to enjoy life at home without the ongoing burden of property taxes, repairs, and maintenance. Roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 years old in the U.S. every day. A study by the National Conference of State Legislators and AARP found that 90 percent of people over age 65 want to stay in their home for as long as possible. However, most older Americans don't have enough savings to cover retirement ex- penses or realize the lifestyle they'd imagined. According to a survey by the Insured Research Institute (IRI), only 25 percent of Baby Boom-