MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) today provided its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022.

Fourth Quarter 2022 financial results update:

• MFA generated a GAAP loss for the fourth quarter of ($1.5) million, or $(0.02) per common share. Distributable Earnings, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $49.4 million, or $0.48 per common share.

• GAAP book value at December 31, 2022 was $14.87 per common share, while Economic book value, a non-GAAP financial measure of MFA’s financial position, was $15.55 per common share at quarter-end.

• Financing cost (including the impact of hedging) for the fourth quarter of 3.7% was relatively unchanged from the prior quarter, despite the Fed increasing interest rates by 125 basis points during the fourth quarter and by 200 basis points since its September 2022 meeting, due to our strategic focus on hedging and liability management.

• As of December 31, 2022, recourse leverage was 1.8x and portfolio sensitivity to interest rate changes remained relatively low with net duration of 0.99. Throughout 2022 we prioritized maintaining prudent levels of liquidity in light of the challenging interest rate environment. We closed the year with unrestricted cash of $334 million.

• At December 31, 2022, MFA’s residential whole loan portfolio totaled $7.5 billion. Fourth quarter loan acquisition activity of $480.6 million included $378.9 million of funded originations of Business Purpose loans (including draws on Transitional loans) and $101.7 million of Non-QM loan acquisitions. Full year acquisition loan activity was $3.1 billion and included $2.0 billion of funded originations of Business Purpose loans (including draws on Transitional loans) and $1.1 billion of Non-QM loan acquisitions.

• MFA’s residential whole loan portfolio has benefited from strong home price appreciation (HPA) and loan amortization. At December 31, 2022, the portfolio has an estimated weighted average current loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 58%. Loan delinquencies trended down across the portfolio during 2022. Measured as a percentage of the unpaid principal balance, 3.1% of the Purchased Performing Loan portfolio was 60 or more days delinquent at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 4.2% as of December 31, 2021. For Purchased Credit Deteriorated and Purchased Non-Performing loans, 31.6% were 60 or more days delinquent at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 36.7% as of December 31, 2021. The estimated weighted average current LTV of all loans in the portfolio that are 60 or more days delinquent at December 31, 2022 is 62%.

• Continued interest rate volatility and generally wider spreads during the fourth quarter resulted in losses of $68.8 million on MFA’s residential whole loans that are measured at fair value through earnings. These losses were partially offset by unrealized gains on securitized debt measured at fair value through earnings, as well as gains on derivatives used for risk management purposes totaling $44.5 million.

• Net interest income for the fourth quarter was $55.7 million. Interest income from residential whole loans increased 9% to $125.0 million as compared to the immediately prior quarter. Net interest income this quarter also included approximately $7.8 million in connection with the redemption of a MSR note at par. For the fourth quarter, the overall net interest spread generated by all of MFA’s interest-bearing assets, including the positive carry on our swaps, increased to 2.21%. Adjusting for the impact of the MSR note redemption, the overall net interest spread was 1.89%, compared to 1.64% in the immediately prior quarter, an increase of approximately 15%.

• On January 31, 2023, MFA paid a regular cash dividend for the fourth quarter of $0.35 per share of common stock.

Commenting on the fourth quarter, Craig Knutson, MFA’s CEO and President said, “While rates ended the fourth quarter only slightly higher than at September 30, the fourth quarter was another very volatile period for fixed income and mortgages in particular. Two-year Treasuries began the fourth quarter at 4.28% and sold off to 4.72% in early November before rallying back to end the year at 4.43%. After beginning the quarter at 3.83%, ten-year Treasuries hit a high for the year of 4.24% in late October before rallying back to close the year at 3.87%. Agency mortgage spreads widened out to the widest levels since the Great Financial Crisis in late October, and securitization markets, while not closed, were dysfunctional as spreads on even AAA cash flows widened more than Agency MBS spreads. Nonetheless, as we had done all year, our team at MFA protected book value and preserved capital, as we awaited more favorable market conditions.”

Mr. Knutson continued, “Our book value was relatively flat in the fourth quarter. Although mortgage REIT book values are down substantially since the beginning of 2022, our book value performance and economic returns for the year were better than most in our peer group. Our focus has been on maintaining substantial liquidity, fortifying our balance sheet by continuing to increase non-mark-to-market financing for our loan portfolio and decreasing our sensitivity to future interest rate increases. We stated on our third quarter earnings call that 99% of our asset-based financing costs were effectively fixed, either through securitizations or interest rate swaps. To illustrate how impactful this positioning was, our fourth quarter 2022 cost of funds (including the impact of swaps) was 3.7%, which is only 10 basis points higher than our third quarter cost of funds. This is despite the fact that the Fed raised rates by 125 basis points in the fourth quarter and by 200 basis points since its September 2022 meeting. We ended the year with unrestricted cash of $334 million, which is approximately 17% of our equity, and currently have approximately $1.9 billion of unused financing capacity across all loan product types. Finally, our loan portfolio has significant embedded home price appreciation, which, when combined with principal amortization, lowers the average LTV of our mortgage loan portfolio to approximately 58%.”

Mr. Knutson added, “Our Lima One subsidiary produced a record $2.3 billion of originations in 2022, a 42% increase over 2021, and contributed approximately 65% of our asset acquisitions during 2022. We believe that these organically-produced business purpose loans have strong credit characteristics and provide attractive yields that we could not obtain through third party purchases. Lima One’s current origination pipeline has a weighted average coupon of over 10%. Although fourth quarter origination volume declined 37% from the third quarter, this was due to higher coupons and tighter underwriting standards that we implemented throughout 2022 to reflect higher interest rates and economic uncertainty. When market conditions improve, Lima One’s operational capacity should position us to increase production quickly and efficiently.”

Q4 2022 Portfolio Activity

Loan acquisitions were $480.6 million, including $378.9 million of funded originations of Business Purpose loans (including draws on Transitional loans) and $101.7 million of Non-QM loan acquisitions, partially offset by portfolio run-off and asset valuation declines. In addition, near the end of the quarter, we entered into transactions to sell the majority of our holdings of Agency Eligible Investor loans and deconsolidate securitization trusts that hold previously securitized Agency Eligible Investor loans. As a result of these transactions, our reported portfolio of Agency Eligible Investor loans decreased by approximately $780 million, which drove the overall $572.0 million decrease in MFA’s residential mortgage investment portfolio for the fourth quarter.

At December 31, 2022, our investments in residential whole loans totaled $7.5 billion. Of this amount, $6.3 billion are Purchased Performing Loans, $448.9 million are Purchased Credit Deteriorated Loans and $796.1 million are Purchased Non-performing Loans. Overall yields on our residential whole loans increased over the quarter resulting in a net interest spread of 2.06%, a 13.8% increase over the immediately prior quarter. During the quarter, we recognized approximately $125.0 million of Interest Income on residential whole loans in our consolidated statements of operations, representing a yield of 5.62%. Purchased Performing Loans generated a yield of 5.04%, Purchased Credit Deteriorated Loans generated a yield of 6.59% and Purchased Non-performing Loans generated a yield of 11.15%. Interest income from our residential whole loan portfolio increased on a sequential quarter basis by over 9%. Loan delinquencies have remained relatively low and trended down across the portfolio during 2022. Measured as a percentage of the unpaid principal balance, 3.1% of the Purchased Performing Loan portfolio was 60 or more days delinquent at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 4.2% as of December 31, 2021. For Purchased Credit Deteriorated and Purchased Non-Performing loans, 31.6% were 60 or more days delinquent at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 36.7% as of December 31, 2021. The estimated weighted average current LTV of loans that are 60 or more days delinquent at December 31, 2022 is 62%.

Lima One continued to perform well, funding more than $268.1 million of new business purpose loans with a maximum loan amount of approximately $406 million. Further, $110.8 million of draws were funded on previously originated Transitional loans. For the quarter, Lima One generated approximately $9.2 million of origination, servicing, and other fee income.

During the quarter we completed one loan securitization, with $234.8 million UPB of Single-Family Rental loans sold. Subsequent to the end of the quarter we completed three additional securitizations, selling $313.7 million UPB of Non-QM loans, $203.9 million UPB of Single Family Rental loans and $150.6 million UPB of Transitional loans.

During the fourth quarter we maintained our position in interest rate swaps at a notional amount of $3.2 billion. At December 31, 2022, these swaps had a weighted average fixed pay interest rate of 1.69% and a weighted average variable receive interest rate of 4.30%. After including the impact of these swaps, as well as the effect of securitized and other fixed rate debt, we estimate that the net effective duration of our investment portfolio at December 31, 2022 was 0.99.

We also continued to reduce our REO portfolio, selling 83 properties in the fourth quarter for aggregate proceeds of $28.8 million and generating $7.4 million of gains. For 2022, we sold 416 properties for aggregate proceeds of $133.8 million and generated $28.7 million of gains.

At the end of the fourth quarter, MFA held $333.4 million of Securities, at fair value, including $131.7 million of Agency MBS, $97.9 million of MSR-related assets, $79.2 million of CRT securities and $24.6 million of Non-Agency MBS securities recorded in connection with the deconsolidation of Agency Eligible Investor loan securitizations.

General and Administrative and other expenses

For the three months ended December 31, 2022, MFA’s compensation and benefits expense and other general and administrative expenses were $24.8 million. Expenses for the quarter included $13.0 million of compensation and other general and administrative expenses recorded at Lima One. Compensation related expenses were approximately $4.0 million lower than the immediately prior quarter due to lower incentive compensation expense in connection with the final determination of annual incentive awards and lower sales commission expense at Lima One due to lower origination volume in the fourth quarter.

Segment reporting

Included in this press release is information on our reportable segments, including GAAP Net Income and Distributable Earnings for each segment for the three month periods ended September 30 and December 31, 2022 and segment assets as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022.

The following table presents MFA’s asset allocation as of December 31, 2022, and the fourth quarter 2022 yield on average interest-earning assets, average cost of funds and net interest rate spread for the various asset types.

Table 1 - Asset Allocation

The following table presents the activity for our residential mortgage asset portfolio for the three months ended December 31, 2022:

Table 2 - Investment Portfolio Activity Q4 2022

The following tables present information on our investments in residential whole loans.

Table 3 - Portfolio composition

Table 4 - Yields and average balances

Table 5 - Net Interest Spread

Table 6 - Allowance for Credit Losses

The following table presents a roll-forward of the allowance for credit losses on the Company’s Residential Whole Loans, at Carrying Value:

Table 7 - Credit related metrics/Residential Whole Loans

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

Table 8 - LTV 90+ Days Delinquencies

The following table presents certain information regarding the Company’s Residential whole loans that are 90 days or more delinquent:

Table 9 - Shock Table

The information presented in the following “Shock Table” projects the potential impact of sudden parallel changes in interest rates on the value of our portfolio, including the impact of Swaps and securitized debt, based on the assets in our investment portfolio at December 31, 2022. Changes in portfolio value are measured as the percentage change when comparing the projected portfolio value to the base interest rate scenario at December 31, 2022.

Webcast

MFA Financial, Inc. plans to host a live audio webcast of its investor conference call on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its fourth quarter 2022 financial results. The live audio webcast will be accessible to the general public over the internet at http://www.mfafinancial.com through the “Webcasts & Presentations” link on MFA’s home page. To listen to the conference call over the internet, please go to the MFA website at least 15 minutes before the call to register and to download and install any needed audio software. Earnings presentation materials will be posted on the MFA website prior to the conference call and an audio replay will be available on the website following the call.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

When used in this press release or other written or oral communications, statements that are not historical in nature, including those containing words such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” the negative of these words or similar expressions, are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results with respect to MFA’s business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. Among the important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements that we make are: general economic developments and trends and the performance of the housing, real estate, mortgage finance, broader financial markets; inflation, increases in interest rates and changes in the market (i.e., fair) value of MFA’s residential whole loans, MBS, securitized debt and other assets, as well as changes in the value of MFA’s liabilities accounted for at fair value through earnings; the effectiveness of hedging transactions; changes in the prepayment rates on residential mortgage assets, an increase of which could result in a reduction of the yield on certain investments in its portfolio and could require MFA to reinvest the proceeds received by it as a result of such prepayments in investments with lower coupons, while a decrease in which could result in an increase in the interest rate duration of certain investments in MFA’s portfolio making their valuation more sensitive to changes in interest rates and could result in lower forecasted cash flows; credit risks underlying MFA’s assets, including changes in the default rates and management’s assumptions regarding default rates on the mortgage loans in MFA’s residential whole loan portfolio; MFA’s ability to borrow to finance its assets and the terms, including the cost, maturity and other terms, of any such borrowings; implementation of or changes in government regulations or programs affecting MFA’s business; MFA’s estimates regarding taxable income, the actual amount of which is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in the amount of interest income and financing costs, the method elected by MFA to accrete the market discount on residential whole loans and the extent of prepayments, realized losses and changes in the composition of MFA’s residential whole loan portfolios that may occur during the applicable tax period, including gain or loss on any MBS disposals or whole loan modifications, foreclosures and liquidations; the timing and amount of distributions to stockholders, which are declared and paid at the discretion of MFA’s Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, MFA’s taxable income, its financial results and overall financial condition and liquidity, maintenance of its REIT qualification and such other factors as MFA’s Board of Directors deems relevant; MFA’s ability to maintain its qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; MFA’s ability to maintain its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (or the “Investment Company Act”), including statements regarding the concept release issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to interpretive issues under the Investment Company Act with respect to the status under the Investment Company Act of certain companies that are engaged in the business of acquiring mortgages and mortgage-related interests; MFA’s ability to continue growing its residential whole loan portfolio, which is dependent on, among other things, the supply of loans offered for sale in the market; targeted or expected returns on our investments in recently-originated mortgage loans, the performance of which is, similar to our other mortgage loan investments, subject to, among other things, differences in prepayment risk, credit risk and financing costs associated with such investments; risks associated with the ongoing operation of Lima One Holdings, LLC (including, without limitation, unanticipated expenditures relating to or liabilities arising from its operation (including, among other things, a failure to realize management’s assumptions regarding expected growth in business purpose loan (BPL) origination volumes and credit risks underlying BPLs, including changes in the default rates and management’s assumptions regarding default rates on the BPLs originated by Lima One); expected returns on MFA’s investments in nonperforming residential whole loans (“NPLs”), which are affected by, among other things, the length of time required to foreclose upon, sell, liquidate or otherwise reach a resolution of the property underlying the NPL, home price values, amounts advanced to carry the asset (e.g., taxes, insurance, maintenance expenses, etc. on the underlying property) and the amount ultimately realized upon resolution of the asset; risks associated with our investments in MSR-related assets, including servicing, regulatory and economic risks; risks associated with our investments in loan originators; risks associated with investing in real estate assets generally, including changes in business conditions and the general economy; and other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those described in the annual, quarterly and current reports that we file with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations of MFA’s future performance, taking into account information currently available. Readers and listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time and it is not possible to predict those events or how they may affect MFA. Except as required by law, MFA is not obligated to, and does not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.