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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 65 tenure as HUD Secretary, Castro made a controversial move. Concerned that too many creditworthy borrowers might be locked out of the housing market due to the tight lending standards adopted in the wake of the financial crisis, Castro lowered the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) premiums by 50 basis points down to 0.85 percent. e move drew heavy criticism from Republicans, since FHA had just received a $1.7 billion bailout in 2013 and a November 2014 audit of the MMI fund revealed that its capital ratio was at 0.41 percent, less than one quarter of the 2 percent level required by Congress. Castro received some vindication in November 2015 when another audit of the MMI fund reported that for FY 2015, the fund's capital ratio had skyrocketed past the congressionally mandated level up to 2.07 percent, having gained $19 billion in economic value during the previous fiscal year. "I believe that responsible homeownership is still a good thing in the United States," Castro told DS News. "Our homeownership rate is near a four-decade low. So we reduced the mortgage insurance premium last year and we saw a boost in FHA business. e housing market has continued to pick up. It has gotten stronger and stronger. We will continue to do what we can to make credit available for responsible families who can pay their mortgage, because homeownership is still an important tool to build wealth in our country and pass that wealth on." Lowering the FHA MMI premium may help homebuyers get into homes, but what about the equally important initiative of sustaining homeownership once it is attained? HUD has heavily invested in housing counseling in the last couple of years in order to help homebuyers fully understand the magnitude of their purchase and steps they can take in order to maintain homeownership— and what to do should an economic shock, such as a job loss, occur. "People need to make decisions with their eyes wide open as informed consumers," Castro said. "Going in, folks ought to be equipped with the knowledge to not bite off more than they can chew, but make a responsible decision. If they have a mortgage that is affordable to them, that is the most important step in ensuring that they can keep on with it. But once they're in there, I think that everything else that goes into stable homeownership is important. at relates to the work that the president is doing to lift the economy back up. We've had 71 straight months of private sector job growth, more than 14 million private sector jobs created since early 2009. at's the longest streak on record. e unemployment rate is at 4.9 percent. All of that bodes well for families being able to not just become homeowners but to stay in their homes." In July 2015, Castro rolled out what so far has been his signature program as HUD Secretary, and the first thing he mentioned when asked what he is most proud of having accomplished so far in that role—the ConnectHome initiative. Realizing that there is more to urban development than just providing affordable housing, Castro wanted to make sure that families living in HUD housing were afforded Internet access in order to allow both kids and parents a way to utilize important resources they would not otherwise have. ConnectHome also includes localized, free, and culturally sensitive training in essential digital literacy skills that will allow hem to most effectively utilize their broadband Internet access. "We know that in this 21st century global economy every single child needs the tools of this 21st century to succeed, and the Internet is a basic tool," Castro said. "Unfortunately, the majority of folks in public housing don't have access to the Internet, and we're trying to change that." COVER STORY SUCCESS PROFILE INDUSTRY INSIGHT

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