The Lede

Reuters, Apr. 23, 2019--Jonathan StempelGeneral Electric Co on Tuesday put the remnants of its WMC Mortgage unit into bankruptcy, 11 days after paying a $1.5 billion U.S. fine over defective subprime mortgages issued by WMC before the 2008 financial crisis.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 23, 2019--Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)Nearly 63% of senior mortgage executives named application programming interfaces as being most likely to streamline processes, while 62% tapped document management or optical character recognition, according to Fannie's first-quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.

Bloomberg, Apr. 23, 2019--Christopher MaloneyAnalyst teams at Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan have raised their recommendations on the agency mortgage-backed securities sector following the recent widening of mortgage spreads.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 23, 2019--Paul Centopani (subscription)Even after integrating the 52 Wells Fargo branches acquired in December as part of its efforts to diversify beyond home lending, Flagstar Bancorp's first-quarter earnings were driven by increased mortgage revenue.

Reuters, Apr. 23, 2019--Sanjana ShivdasPulteGroup said Tuesday it expects homebuyers to return to the market after slowing demand in the second half of 2018, spurred by lower prices across its portfolio and easing mortgage rates.

HousingWire, Apr. 23, 2019--Jessica GuerinHomeowners have claims regarding their reverse mortgages with Reverse Mortgage Solutions, a Ditech subsidiary that that was either the lender or servicer on the loans that were part of an alleged scheme. But now, Ditech is in the midst of a bankruptcy that might impact these fraud victims.

MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni appears on CNBC's Worldwide Exchange to discuss housing market trends, the economy and the latest MBA forecast.