cim-20201231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED: December 31, 2020

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 1-33796

CHIMERA INVESTMENT CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


Maryland		26-0630461
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation of organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

520 Madison Avenue, 32nd Floor
New York,	New York	10022
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

(888) 895-6557

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	CIM	New York Stock Exchange
8.00% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	CIM PRA	New York Stock Exchange
8.00% Series B Cumulative Fixed-to-Floating Rate Redeemable Preferred Stock	CIM PRB	New York Stock Exchange
7.75% Series C Cumulative Fixed-to-Floating Rate Redeemable Preferred Stock	CIM PRC	New York Stock Exchange
8.00% Series D Cumulative Fixed-to-Floating Rate Redeemable Preferred Stock	CIM PRD	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days:

Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and files).

Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer þ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

☑

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ☐ No þ

At June 30, 2020, the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was 2,192,560,401 based on the closing sale price on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.

The number of shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding on January 31, 2021 was 230,559,010.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of registrant’s fiscal year covered by this Annual Report, are incorporated by reference into Part III.

CHIMERA INVESTMENT CORPORATION

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS



ITEM 1.	BUSINESS	4
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	12
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	42
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES	42
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	42
ITEM 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	42

	PART II

ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	42
ITEM 6.	SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA	43
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	45
ITEM 7A.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	69
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	75
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	75
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	75
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION	76

	PART III

ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	76
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	77
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	77
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	77
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES	77

	PART IV

ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	77

	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	81
	SIGNATURES	137

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We make forward-looking statements in this report that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about, among other things, possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘would,’’ ‘‘will’’ or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, are forward-looking by their nature:

•our business and investment strategy;

•our ability to accurately forecast the payment of future dividends on our common and preferred stock, and the amount of such dividends;

•our ability to determine accurately the fair market value of our assets;

•availability of investment opportunities in real estate-related and other securities, including our valuation of potential opportunities that may arise as a result of current and future market dislocations;

•effect of the novel coronavirus (or COVID-19) pandemic on real estate market, financial markets and our Company, including the impact on the value, availability, financing and liquidity of mortgage assets;

•how COVID-19 may affect us, our operations and our personnel;

•our expected investments;

•changes in the value of our investments, including negative changes resulting in margin calls related to the financing of our assets;

•changes in interest rates and mortgage prepayment rates;

•prepayments of the mortgage and other loans underlying our mortgage-backed securities, or RMBS, or other asset-backed securities, or ABS;

•rates of default, delinquencies, forbearance, deferred payments or decreased recovery rates on our investments;

•general volatility of the securities markets in which we invest;

•our ability to maintain existing financing arrangements and our ability to obtain future financing arrangements;

•our ability to effect our strategy to securitize residential mortgage loans;

•interest rate mismatches between our investments and our borrowings used to finance such purchases;

•effects of interest rate caps on our adjustable-rate investments;

•the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate volatility;

•the impact of and changes to various government programs, including in response to COVID-19;

•impact of and changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates, accounting guidance, and similar matters;

•market trends in our industry, interest rates, the debt securities markets or the general economy;

•estimates relating to our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future;

•our understanding of our competition;

•our ability to find and retain qualified personnel;

•our ability to maintain our classification as a real estate investment trust, or, REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

•our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or 1940 Act;

•our expectations regarding materiality or significance; and

•the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures.

Special Note Regarding COVID-19 pandemic

Because there have been no comparable recent global pandemics that resulted in similar impact, we do not yet know the full extent of COVID-19’s effects on our business, operations, personnel, or the U.S. economy as a whole. Any future developments in this regard will be highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with any certainty, including the scope and duration of the pandemic, the effectiveness of our work from home or remote work arrangements, third-party providers’ ability to support our operation, and any actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic, and the other factors discussed above and throughout this Annual report on Form 10-K. The uncertain future development of this crisis could materially and adversely affect our business, operations, operating results, financial condition, liquidity or capital levels.

These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. Some of these factors are described under the caption ‘‘Risk Factors’’ in this Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to, and do not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer to Chimera Investment Corporation and its subsidiaries unless specifically stated otherwise or the context otherwise indicates. The following defines certain of the commonly used terms in this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Agency refers to a federally chartered corporation, such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or an agency of the U.S. Government, such as Ginnie Mae; MBS refers to mortgage-backed securities secured by pools of residential or commercial mortgage loans; RMBS refers to mortgage-backed securities secured by pools of residential mortgage loans; CMBS refers to mortgage-backed securities secured by pools of commercial mortgage loans; Agency RMBS and Agency CMBS refer to MBS that are secured by pools of residential and commercial mortgage loans, respectively, and are issued or guaranteed by an Agency; Agency MBS refers to MBS that are issued or guaranteed by an Agency and includes Agency RMBS and Agency CMBS collectively; Non-Agency RMBS refers to residential MBS that are not guaranteed by any agency of the U.S. Government or any Agency.

PART I

Item 1. Business

The Company

We are an internally managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is primarily engaged, through our subsidiaries, in the business of investing in a diversified portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, and other real estate-related assets. We were incorporated in Maryland on June 1, 2007 and commenced operations on November 21, 2007.

Our Investment Strategy

Our objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors over the long-term, primarily through dividends. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in a diversified investment portfolio of residential mortgage loans, Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, real estate-related securities and various other real estate-related asset classes. The MBS, and other real estate-related securities we purchase may include investment-grade, non-investment grade, and non-rated classes. Subject to maintaining our REIT status and exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the 1940 Act, we do not have any limitations on the amounts we may invest in any of our targeted asset classes.

We make investment decisions based on various factors, including expected cash yield, relative value, risk-adjusted returns, credit fundamentals, macroeconomic considerations, supply and demand, credit and market risk concentration limits, liquidity, cost of financing and financing availability, as well as maintaining our REIT qualification and our exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. Our primary source of income is net interest income from our investment portfolio. Net interest income is the interest income we earn on investments less the interest expense we incur on borrowed funds.

Our investment strategy is intended to take advantage of opportunities in the current interest rate and credit environment. We expect to adjust our strategy to changing market conditions by shifting our asset allocations across these various asset classes as interest rate and credit cycles change over time. We believe that our strategy will enable us to pay dividends throughout changing market cycles.

We use leverage to seek to increase our potential returns and to finance the acquisition of our assets. Our income is generated primarily by the difference, or net spread, between the income we earn on our assets and the cost of our borrowings. We expect to finance our investments using a variety of financing sources, including securitizations, warehouse facilities and repurchase agreements. We seek to manage our debt and interest rate risk by utilizing interest rate hedges, such as interest rate swaps, caps, options and futures to reduce the effect of interest rate fluctuations related to our financing sources.

Currently, we focus our investment activities primarily on acquiring and securitizing pools of residential mortgage loans and, when we believe market or other conditions are favorable, exercising call options on existing securitizations to acquire the underlying mortgage loans and use additional securitization to re-finance those called mortgage loans at lower rates and/or more

efficient leverage. When we securitize mortgage loans, we typically retain the most subordinate classes of securities, which means we are the first-loss security holder. Losses on any residential mortgage loan securing our RMBS will be borne first by the owner of the property (i.e., the owner will first lose any equity invested in the property) and, thereafter, by us as the first-loss security holder, and then by holders of more senior securities. In addition, most of these subordinate securities are subject to the Dodd-Frank Act and related laws and regulations relating to credit risk retention for securitizations, or the Risk Retention Rules, which significantly limits the liquidity of these securities. See “ Risk Factors - Risks Associated with Our Investments - A significant portion of the RMBS we acquire through securitization is subject to the U.S. credit risk retention rules which materially limit our ability to sell or hedge such investments as needed” discussion in Item 1A “Risk Factors” section for more details. We generally finance these subordinate securities with secured financing agreements. The securities we do not retain are typically sold through securities underwriters. Other than the Risk Retention Rules, there is no limit on the amount we may retain of these below-investment-grade subordinate certificates. As discussed below, our use of leverage with respect to the retained securities from the securitizations we sponsored declined during 2020 and we entered into several non-mark-to-market facilities to finance these retained securities.

In addition, we have purchased residential transition loans, also referred to as fix and flip loans. We believe these residential transition loans have strengthened our portfolio in 2020 because they are short duration assets and have a high average coupon, which are good asset traits in times of rate volatility. Currently, we do not use term securitization to finance residential transition loans because of their short duration. We currently finance these loans using repurchase facilities, but we may look to finance these loans with revolving securitization structures in the future.

Our Securitization Programs

We currently have the following four securitization programs: Our “J” program securitizes jumbo prime residential mortgage loans; Our “INV” program securitizes Agency-eligible investor mortgage loans; Our “NR” program securitizes seasoned residential mortgage loans that are not eligible to be securitized in REMIC transactions; and Our “R” program, our most active program, securitizes seasoned reperforming mortgage loans, whether newly acquired from a third party or upon the exercise of a call option, in a REMIC transaction.

“J” and “INV” Rated Programs. The securities issued in our “J” and “INV” securitizations are rated by one or more nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations (“NRSRO”). The loans for our “J” program are “qualified mortgage loans” and therefore the related securitizations are not subject to the Risk Retention Rules, and we typically do not retain any securities related to this program. Our “INV” securitizations are subject to the Risk Retention Rules and we retain subordinate securities to meet our risk retention obligations. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) we do not consolidate the assets and liabilities of the securitization entities related to our “J” and “INV” securitization programs. During 2020, we sponsored two “J” securitizations and one “INV” securitization. The table below sets forth certain information about our “J” and “INV” securitization that were outstanding at December 31, 2020, including two earlier jumbo prime securitizations that are consolidated for financial reporting purposes.


DEAL (1)	TOTAL ORIGINAL FACE		ORIGINAL FACE OF TRANCHES SOLD (2)		ORIGINAL FACE OF TRANCHES RETAINED (2)		TOTAL REMAINING FACE		REMAINING FACE OF TRANCHES SOLD		REMAINING FACE OF TRANCHES RETAINED
CIM 2020-J1	$	361,766	$	361,766	$	—	$	276,918	$	276,918	$	—
CIM 2020-J2	327,362		327,362		—		327,362		327,362		—
CIM 2020-INV1	335,065		311,107		23,958		298,796		274,943		23,853

(1) For certain of the above securitization deals, we retained certain IO and/or excess servicing classes.

(2) At the time of issuance.

“R” and “NR” Non-Rated Programs. The securities issued in our “R” and “NR” securitizations are generally not rated and are subject to the Risk Retention Rules. In these programs, we typically sell the senior securities to an unrelated third party and retain the subordinate securities, which include the first-loss securities which are subject to the Risk Retention Rules, and the interest-only securities. During 2020, we sponsored seven “R” securitizations and one “NR” securitization. We are generally

required under GAAP to consolidate the assets and liabilities of the “NR” and “R” securitization entities for financial reporting purposes. Each of the consolidated entities is independent of Chimera and of each other, and the assets and liabilities of these entities are not owned by us or legal obligations of ours, respectively, although we are exposed to certain financial risks associated with any role we carry out for these entities (e.g., as sponsor or depositor) and, to the extent we hold securities issued by, or other investments in, these entities, we are exposed to the performance of these entities and the assets they hold.


DEAL (1)	TOTAL ORIGINAL FACE		ORIGINAL FACE OF TRANCHES SOLD (2)		ORIGINAL FACE OF TRANCHES RETAINED (2)		TOTAL REMAINING FACE		REMAINING FACE OF TRANCHES SOLD		REMAINING FACE OF TRANCHES RETAINED
CIM 2020-NR1	$	131,860	$	84,165	$	47,695	$	130,664	$	83,097	$	47,567
CIM 2020-R7	653,192		562,023		91,169		642,978		551,805		91,173
CIM 2020-R6	418,390		334,151		84,239		408,175		323,886		84,289
CIM 2020-R5	338,416		257,027		81,389		305,646		224,025		81,621
CIM 2020-R4	276,316		207,237		69,079		264,556		195,372		69,184
CIM 2020-R3	438,228		328,670		109,558		404,607		294,967		109,640
CIM 2020-R2	492,347		351,926		140,421		450,379		375,590		74,789
CIM 2020-R1	390,761		317,608		73,153		366,552		293,766		72,786

(1) For certain of the above securitization deals, we retained certain IO and/or excess servicing classes.

(2) At the time of issuance.

Our Investment Portfolio

At December 31, 2020, based on the amortized cost balance of our interest earning assets, approximately 79% of our investment portfolio was residential mortgage loans, 10% of our investment portfolio was Agency CMBS, 10% of our investment portfolio was Non-Agency RMBS and 1% of our investment portfolio was Agency IOs. At December 31, 2019, based on the amortized cost balance of our interest earning assets, approximately 55% of our investment portfolio was residential mortgage loans, 26% of our investment portfolio was Agency RMBS, 11% of our investment portfolio was Agency CMBS, and 8% of our investment portfolio was Non-Agency RMBS.

As discussed in “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” the significant change in the composition of our assets during 2020 relates primarily to the sale of our Agency RMBS portfolio during the first quarter of 2020, as we sought to raise liquidity and reduce our exposure to mark-to-market financing during the severe market conditions created by the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Subject to market conditions, we expect our primary investment focus to continue to be on residential mortgage loans in the near term.

The following briefly discusses the principal types of investments that we have made and may in the future make:

Residential Mortgage Loans

We invest in residential mortgage loans (mortgage loans secured by residential real property) through secondary market purchases from banks, non-bank financial institutions, and the Agencies. These mortgage loans are secured primarily by residential properties in the United States.

We acquire residential mortgage loans primarily to securitize them, as discussed above, or to retain them in our portfolio as loans held for investment. Until we securitize our residential mortgage loans, we finance our residential mortgage loan portfolio through warehouse facilities and repurchase agreement, as discussed under “Our Financing Strategy” below.

We currently do not intend to establish a loan origination or loan servicing platform. Currently, we acquire mortgage loans in the secondary market that are originated by third parties and are not underwritten to our specifications. Third-party servicers service the mortgage loans in our portfolio. We conduct a due diligence review of each servicer before the servicer is retained and periodically thereafter. Servicing procedures typically follow Fannie Mae guidelines but are specified in each servicing

agreement. In addition, we have purchased residential mortgage loans on a servicing-retained basis, which means a third-party servicer (which may or may not be the seller of the mortgage loans) retained the right to service the loans. In the future, however, we may decide to originate mortgage loans or other types of financing, and we may elect to service mortgage loans and other types of assets.

We engage a third party to perform an independent review of the mortgage files to assess the origination and servicing of the mortgage loans as well as our ability to enforce the mortgages. We may not review all the loans in a pool, but rather select loans for diligence review utilizing random sampling based criteria such as property location, loan size, effective loan-to-value ratio, borrower’s credit score, delinquency status and other criteria we believe to be important indicators of credit risk. Additionally, we typically obtain representations and warranties with respect to the mortgage loans from each seller, including the origination and servicing of the mortgage loans as well as the enforceability of the lien on the related mortgaged properties. If any of the representations and warranties with respect to a mortgage loan we acquire are breached, the related seller may be obligated to repurchase the loan from us.

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

We invest in mortgage pass-through certificates issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac which are securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgage loans secured by residential real properties where payments of both interest and principal, plus pre-paid principal, on the securities are made monthly to holders of the security, in effect passing through monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the mortgage loans that underlie the securities, net of fees paid to the issuer/guarantor and servicers of the securities. We may also invest in collateralized mortgage obligations, or CMOs, issued by the Agencies. CMOs consist of multiple classes of securities, with each class bearing different stated maturity dates. Monthly payments of principal, including prepayments, are first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class; investors holding the longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. We refer to residential mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as Agency RMBS.

We also invest in investment grade, non-investment grade and non-rated Non-Agency RMBS. We evaluate certain credit characteristics of these types of securities and the underlying mortgage loans, including, but not limited to, loan balance distribution, geographic concentration, property type, occupancy, periodic and lifetime caps, weighted-average loan-to-value and weighted-average Fair Isaac Corporation, or FICO, score. Qualifying securities are then analyzed using base line expectations of expected prepayments and loss severities, the current state of the fixed-income market and the broader economy in general. Losses and prepayments are stressed simultaneously based on a credit risk-based model. Securities in this portfolio are monitored for variance from expected prepayments, severities, losses and cash flow. The due diligence process is particularly important and costly with respect to newly formed originators or issuers because there may be little or no information publicly available about these entities and investments. We may also invest in interest-only, or IO, Agency and Non-Agency RMBS. These IO RMBS represent the right to receive a specified proportion of the contractual interest flows of the collateral.

We have invested in and intend to continue to invest in Non-Agency RMBS which are typically certificates created by the securitization of a pool of mortgage loans that are collateralized by residential real estate properties. The respective bond class sizes are determined based on the review of the underlying collateral. The payments received from the underlying loans are used to make the payments on the RMBS. Based on the sequential payment priority, the risk of nonpayment for the investment grade RMBS is lower than the risk of nonpayment for the non-investment grade bonds. Accordingly, the investment grade class is typically sold at a lower yield compared to the non-investment grade or unrated classes which are sold at higher yields.

Agency CMBS

The Agency CMBS we acquire are Ginnie Mae Construction Loan Certificates, or CLCs, and the resulting project loan certificates, or PLCs, when the construction project is complete. Each CLC is backed by a single multifamily property or health care facility. The investor in the CLC is committed to fund the full amount of the project; however, actual funding occurs as construction progresses on the property. Before each construction advance is funded it is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, or the FHA, and issued by Ginnie Mae. The principal balance of the CLC increases as payments by the investor

fund each construction advance. Each Ginnie Mae approved mortgage originator must provide the agency with supporting documentation regarding advances and disbursements before each construction advance is issued by Ginnie Mae. We also review this documentation prior to funding each Ginnie Mae guaranteed advance. Upon completion of the construction project, the CLC is replaced with a PLC. Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on each CLC and PLC. This obligation is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

As the holder of a CLC, we generally receive monthly payments of interest equal to a pro rata share of the interest payments on the underlying mortgage loan, less applicable servicing and guaranty fees. Ginnie Mae CLCs pay interest only during construction, and so there are no payments of principal. As a holder of a PLC, we generally receive monthly payments of principal and interest equal to the aggregate amount of the scheduled monthly principal and interest payments on the mortgage loans underlying that PLC, less applicable servicing and guaranty fees. In addition, such payments will include any prepayments and other unscheduled recoveries of principal of, and any prepayment penalties on, an underlying mortgage loan to the extent received by the Ginnie Mae Issuer during the month preceding the month of the payment. The mortgage loans underlying the PLCs generally contain a lock-out and prepayment penalty period of 10 years during which the related borrower must pay a prepayment penalty equal to a specified percentage of the principal amount of the mortgage loan in connection with voluntary and certain involuntary prepayments. Ginnie Mae does not guaranty the payment of prepayment penalties.

Other Real Estate-Related Assets

We may invest in commercial mortgage loans consisting of first or second lien loans secured by multifamily properties, which are residential rental properties consisting of five or more dwelling units, or by mixed residential or other commercial properties, retail properties, office properties or industrial properties. These loans may or may not conform to the Agency guidelines.

We may invest in non-Agency CMBS, which are secured by, or evidence ownership interests in, a single commercial mortgage loan or a pool of mortgage loans secured by commercial properties. These securities may be senior, subordinated, investment grade or non-investment grade.

We may invest in securities issued in various collateralized debt obligation, or CDO, offerings to gain exposure to bank loans, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, or ABS, mortgages, RMBS, CMBS, and other instruments.

Investment Guidelines

We have adopted a set of investment guidelines that set out the asset classes, risk tolerance levels, diversification requirements and other criteria used to evaluate the merits of specific investments as well as the overall portfolio composition. Our investment committee periodically reviews our compliance with the investment guidelines. Our risk and audit committees of the Board of Directors also review our investment portfolio and related compliance with our investment policies and procedures and investment guidelines at regularly scheduled risk and audit committee meetings.

Our Board of Directors and our investment committee have adopted the following guidelines for our investments and borrowings:

•No investment shall be made that would cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

•No investment shall be made that would cause us to be regulated as an investment company under the 1940 Act;

•With the exception of real estate and housing, no single industry shall represent greater than 20% of the securities or aggregate risk exposure in our portfolio; and

•Investments in non-rated or deeply subordinated ABS or other securities that are non-qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% REIT asset test will be limited to an amount not to exceed 50% of our stockholders’ equity.

These investment guidelines may be changed from time to time by a majority of our Board of Directors without the approval of our stockholders.

Our Financing Strategy

We use leverage to increase potential returns to our stockholders. We are not required to maintain any specific debt-to-equity ratio as we believe the appropriate leverage for the particular assets we are financing depends on the credit quality and risk of those assets. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, our ratio of debt-to-equity was 3.6:1 and 5.5:1, respectively. For purposes of calculating this ratio, our equity is equal to the Total stockholders’ equity on our Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition, and our debt consists of securitized debt, warehouse facilities and repurchase agreements.

Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, we may use a variety of sources to finance our investments, including the following primary sources:

•Securitization. A significant element of our financing strategy is to acquire residential mortgage loans for our portfolio with the intention of securitizing them. In our securitizations, we generally create subordinate certificates, providing a specified amount of credit enhancement, which we intend or are required under the Risk Retention Rules to retain in our portfolio. We have acquired and may in the future acquire Non-Agency RMBS for our portfolio with the intention of exercising the call rights and re-securitizing the underlying mortgage loans and retaining a portion of the re-securitized Non-Agency RMBS in our portfolio, typically the subordinate certificates.

•Warehouse Facilities. We have utilized and may in the future utilize credit facilities for capital needed to fund our assets. We seek to maintain formal relationships with multiple counterparties to maintain warehouse lines on favorable terms.

•Repurchase Agreements. We have financed certain of our assets through repurchase agreements. We anticipate that repurchase agreements will be one of the sources we will use to achieve our desired amount of leverage for our real estate assets. We seek to maintain formal relationships with many counterparties with the intent to obtain financing on the most favorable terms available while diversifying counterparty credit risk.

As a result of the negative impact COVID-19 had on the financial markets and thus the liquidity and market value of our assets beginning in March 2020, we significantly changed our financing strategy. In particular, in connection with the sale of our Agency RMBS portfolio at the onset of the COVID-19 related volatility, we reduced our Agency repurchase financing by $6 billion in the first quarter of 2020 and terminated all derivatives used for hedging interest rate risk across the entire portfolio (which had the effect of reducing our leverage and reliance on mark-to-market financing). Also, through loan securitizations we reduced our loan warehouse facilities to one non-mark-to-market facility for residential mortgage loans and one mark-to-market facility for residential fix-and-flip loans. We also entered into two non-mark-to-market facilities and one mark-to-market holiday facility (market value of the collateral must drop below a threshold before lender can issue a margin call) to finance a portion of our non-Agency RMBS, including risk retention securities. Finally, we took back a portion of securities held as collateral under repurchase facilities and did not finance the retained securities from some of our 2020 securitizations to further reduce our exposure to mark-to-market financing. We expect that as terms for repurchase facility financing improves, we will seek such financing, but we believe that non-mark-to-market facilities will continue to be a material portion of our financing strategy.

Our Interest Rate Hedging and Risk Management Strategy

From time to time, we use derivative financial instruments to hedge all or a portion of the interest rate risk associated with our borrowings. Under the U.S. federal income tax laws applicable to REITs, we generally enter certain transactions to hedge indebtedness that we incur, or plan to incur, to acquire or carry real estate assets.

We may engage in a variety of interest rate management techniques that seek to mitigate changes in interest rates or other potential influences on the values of our assets. Our interest rate management techniques may include:

•puts and calls on securities or indices of securities;

•Eurodollar futures contracts and options on such contracts;

•interest rate caps, swaps and swaptions;

•U.S. Treasury futures, forward contracts, other derivative contracts and options on U.S. Treasury securities; and

•other similar transactions.

We may attempt to reduce interest rate risks and to minimize exposure to interest rate fluctuations through match funded financing structures, when appropriate, whereby we seek (i) to match the maturities of our debt obligations with the maturities of our assets and (ii) to match the interest rates on our investments with similar debt directly or through interest rate swaps, caps or other financial instruments, or through a combination of these strategies. This helps us to minimize the risk that we have to refinance our liabilities before the maturities of our assets and to reduce the impact of changing interest rates on our earnings.

In connection with the sale of our Agency RMBS portfolio and termination of the related financing, we removed $4.7 billion notional amount of interest rate hedge positions related to such financing and reducing our hedge positions to zero. These changes were the result of changes in our portfolio composition rather than of a change to our hedging strategy.

Operational and Regulatory Structure

REIT Qualification

We have elected to be treated as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must comply with the requirements under federal tax law, including that we must distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments) to our stockholders. As a REIT, we generally are not subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income that is distributed to our stockholders. To ensure we qualify as a REIT, no person may own more than 9.8%, in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock, which includes our common stock and preferred stock, unless our Board of Directors waives this limitation. As of December 31, 2020, we have granted waivers to two mutual funds to own a certain class of our preferred stock above the 9.8% limitation. Also, we have elected to treat certain of our subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries (or TRS). In general, a TRS may hold assets and engage in activities that a REIT or qualified REIT subsidiary (or QRS) cannot hold or engage in directly and generally may engage in any real estate or non-real estate related business. A TRS is subject to U.S. federal income tax.

1940 Act Exclusion

We continued to conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. Government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis (the “40% test”). Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. Government securities and securities issued by majority owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exclusion from the definition of investment company for private funds set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.

If the value of securities issued by our subsidiaries that are excluded from the definition of “investment company” by Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act, together with any other investment securities we own, exceeds the 40% test under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act, or if one or more of such subsidiaries fail to maintain an exclusion or exception from the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either (a) to substantially change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company or (b) to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act, either of which could have an adverse effect on us and the market price of our securities. If we were required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either to (a) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (b) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so, or (c) register as an investment company, any of which could negatively affect the value of our common stock, the sustainability of our business model, and our ability to make

distributions. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Maintenance of our 1940 Act exclusion imposes limits on our operations.”

Licenses

While we are not required to obtain licenses to purchase mortgage-backed securities, the purchase and sale of residential mortgage loans in the secondary market may, in some circumstances, require us to maintain various state licenses. Acquiring the right to service residential mortgage loans may also, in some circumstances, require us to maintain various state licenses even though we currently do not directly engage in loan servicing ourselves and do not expect to do so. Currently, we hold licenses or exemption status, through two of our wholly owned subsidiaries in 23 states. We are required to comply with various information reporting and other regulatory requirements to maintain those licenses and exemption status. Our failure to obtain or maintain required licenses or exemption status or our failure to comply with regulatory requirements that are applicable to our business of acquiring residential mortgage loans may restrict our business and investment options and could harm our business and expose us to penalties or other claims.

Human Capital

The human capital objectives we focus on in managing our business include attracting, developing, and retaining key personnel. Our employees are critical to the success of our organization and the Company is committed to supporting our employees’ professional development. We believe our management team has the experience necessary to effectively implement our growth strategy and continue to drive shareholder value. We provide competitive compensation and benefits to attract and retain key personnel, while also providing a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace. We continue to have a focus on diversity initiatives. The Company offers internal training programs on financial markets, business ethics, government regulatory rules and other topics. The Company encourages personnel to attend industry sponsored or other conferences, and has a tuition reimbursement program to help personnel to further develop their skills and to stay current on evolving trends impacting our industry.

We focus on attracting and retaining employees by providing compensation and benefits packages that are competitive within the applicable market, taking into account the job position’s location and responsibilities. We provide competitive financial benefits such as a 401(k) retirement plan with a company match and offer a comprehensive healthcare benefit plan and other tools to support our employees’ health and well-being. We also generally grant awards of restricted stock units on an annual basis to a meaningful portion of our employee. The Company has a matching gift program to encourage personnel to be charitable and to support 501(c)3 organizations.

At December 31, 2020, we had 41 employees, all of whom were full-time. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good. None of our employees are unionized or represented under a collective bargaining agreement.

Competition

Our net income depends, in large part, on our ability to acquire assets at favorable spreads over our borrowing costs. In acquiring real estate-related assets, we compete with other mortgage REITs, specialty finance companies, savings and loan associations, banks, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, financial institutions, hedge funds, governmental bodies (including the U.S. Federal Reserve) and other entities. Many of our competitors are significantly larger than we are, have access to greater capital and other resources and may have other advantages over us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more favorable relationships than we can. The existence of these entities, as well as the possibility of additional entities forming in the future, may increase the competition for the acquisition of residential mortgage assets, resulting in higher prices and lower yields on such assets.

Available Information

Our investor relations website is www.chimerareit.com. We make available on the website under “Filings & Reports,” free of charge, our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and any other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, (including any amendments to such reports) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the SEC. Information on our website, however,

is not part of or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, all our filed reports can be obtained at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the following factors, together with all the other information included in this 2020 Form 10-K, in evaluating our company and our business. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected, and the value of our stock could decline. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. As such, you should not consider this list to be a complete statement of all potential risks or uncertainties.

Summary Risk Factors

Risks Associated with Our Investments

•The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus has adversely affected, and will likely continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

•We cannot predict the effect that government policies, laws and plans adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global recessionary economic conditions will have on us.

•The nature of the mortgage loans we acquire and that underlie the MBS we acquire, exposes us to credit risk that could negatively affect the value of those assets and investments.

•A significant portion of our investments are in Non-Agency RMBS that are the most subordinate securities in securitizations, making us the first-loss security holder, which means these securities are subject to significant credit risk, are illiquid, and are difficult to value.

•A significant portion of the RMBS we acquire through securitization is subject to the U.S. credit risk retention rules which materially limit our ability to sell or hedge such investments as needed, which may require us to hold investments that we may otherwise desire to sell during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

•We have a significant amount of investments in Non-Agency MBS collateralized by mortgage loans that do not meet the prime loan underwriting standards and are subject to increased risk of losses (particularly during periods of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic).

•We have, and may continue to, experience significant changes in our portfolio during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those being experienced now as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

•COVID-19 has created an uncertain and volatile interest rate environment, which could adversely affect our business.

•Changes in prepayment rates could negatively affect the value of our investment portfolio, which could result in reduced earnings or losses and negatively affect the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

•New assets we acquire may not generate yields as attractive as yields on our current assets, which could result in a decline in our earnings per share over time.

•We may change our investment strategy, asset allocation, or financing plans without stockholder consent, which may result in riskier investments.

•Changes in the fair values of our assets, liabilities, and derivatives can have various negative effects on us, including reduced earnings, increased earnings volatility, and volatility in our book value.

•Our calculations of the fair value of the assets we own or consolidate are based upon assumptions that are inherently subjective and involve a high degree of management judgment, and such assumptions may be more difficult to calculate during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Risks Related to Financing and Hedging

•Our business strategy involves the use of leverage, and we may not achieve what we believe to be optimal levels of leverage or we may become overleveraged, which may materially adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations or financial condition.

•Our inability to access funding or the terms on which such funding is available could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, particularly during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Risks Associated with Our Operations

•Through certain of our wholly-owned subsidiaries we have engaged in the past, and expect to continue to engage in, securitization transactions relating to residential mortgage loans. These types of transactions and investments expose us to potentially material risks.

•We rely on third parties to perform certain services particularly as it relates to servicing, comply with applicable laws and regulations, and carry out contractual covenants and terms, the failure of which by any of these third parties may adversely impact our business and financial results.

•We utilize third party analytical models and data to value our investments, and any incorrect, misleading or incomplete information used in connection therewith would subject us to potential risks.

•The third party analytical models and data we use to value our investments may be more prone to inaccuracies in light of the unprecedented conditions created by COVID-19.

•We are dependent on information systems and their failure could significantly disrupt our business.

Risks Related to Regulatory Matters, Accounting, and Our 1940 Act Exemption

•Our business is subject to extensive regulation.

•We are required to obtain various state licenses to purchase mortgage loans in the secondary market and there is no assurance we will be able to obtain or maintain those licenses.

•Our GAAP financial results may not be an accurate indicator of taxable income and dividend distributions.

•Loss of our 1940 Act exemption would adversely affect us and negatively affect the market price of shares of our capital stock and our ability to distribute dividends.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Risks

•Your investment has various U.S. federal income tax risks.

•Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

•Complying with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

•Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.

•Failure to qualify as a REIT would subject us to U.S. federal income tax, which would reduce the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

Risks Related to Our Capital Stock

•Capital stock eligible for future sale may have adverse consequences for investors and adverse effects on our share price.

•Future offerings of debt securities, which would rank senior to our capital stock upon liquidation, and future offerings of equity securities (including upon the exercise of warrants we have issued to certain lenders), which would dilute our existing stockholders and may be senior to our capital stock for the purposes of dividend and liquidating distributions, may adversely affect the market price of our capital stock.

•There is a risk that you may not receive dividend distributions, or those dividend distributions may decrease over time. Changes in the amount of dividend distributions we pay or in the tax characterization of dividend distributions we pay may adversely affect the market price of our common stock or may result in holders of our common stock being taxed on dividend distributions at a higher rate than initially expected.

Risks Associated with Our Investments

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has adversely affected, and could continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We believe the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected our business and could continue to do so. The outbreak has caused significant volatility and disruption in the financial markets both globally and in the United States. If COVID-19, or another highly infectious or contagious disease, continues to spread or the response (including any vaccines) to contain it is unsuccessful, we could experience material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations. The extent of such effects will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the geographic spread of the virus, the overall severity of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, the effectiveness of any vaccine, the measures that may be taken by various governmental authorities in response to the outbreak (such as quarantines and travel restrictions) and the possible further impacts on the global economy. The continued spread of COVID-19 and related health concerns could also negatively impact the availability of key personnel necessary to conduct our business.

Any significant decrease in economic activity or resulting decline in the housing market could have an adverse effect on our investments in mortgage loans, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, and other real estate assets. In particular, COVID-19 and related economic impacts has adversely impacted the housing and related markets, including as related to availability of mortgage financing, the ability of buyers and sellers and others industry participants to conducts sales, and the overall decline in home values if economic conditions do not improve. In addition, as interest rates continue to decline as result of demand for U.S. Treasury securities and the activities of the Federal Reserve, prepayments on our assets are likely to increase due to refinancing activity, which could have a materially adverse effect on our result of operations.

Further, in light of the current environment related to the COVID-19 outbreak on the overall economy, such as rising unemployment levels or changes in consumer behavior related to loans as well as government policies and pronouncements, borrowers may experience difficulties meeting their obligations or seek to forebear payment on or refinance their loans for lower rates, which may adversely affect our result of operations (particularly as related to assets we own that expose us to credit risk, as discussed below). Thus, the credit risk profile of our assets may be more pronounced during severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those being experienced now as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We cannot predict the effect that government policies, laws and plans adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global recessionary economic conditions will have on us.

Governments have adopted, and we expect will continue to adopt, policies, laws and plans intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse developments in the credit, financial and mortgage markets. While the U.S. Federal Reserve, the U.S. government and other governments have implemented unprecedented financial support or relief measures in response to concerns surrounding the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the likelihood of such measures calming the volatility in the financial markets or addressing a long-term national or global economic downturn cannot be predicted and we cannot assure you that these programs will be effective, sufficient or otherwise have a positive impact on our business.

On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law. Among the provisions in this wide-ranging law are protections

for homeowners experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including forbearance provisions

and procedures. Borrowers with federally backed mortgage loans, regardless of delinquency status, may request loan

forbearance for a six-month period, which could be extended for another six-month period if necessary. Federally

backed mortgage loans are loans secured by first- or subordinate-liens on 1-4 family residential real property,

including individual units of condominiums and cooperatives, which are insured or guaranteed pursuant to certain

government housing programs, such as by the FHA or U.S. Department of Agriculture, or are purchased or securitized

by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The CARES Act also includes a temporary 60 day foreclosure moratorium that applies

to federally backed mortgage loans, which lasted until July 24, 2020 and was extended to December 31, 2020 by Fannie

Mae, FHA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some states and local jurisdictions have also implemented

moratoriums on foreclosures.

Moreover, certain actions taken by U.S. or other governmental authorities, including the Federal Reserve, that are intended to ameliorate the social and macroeconomic effects of COVID-19 may harm our business. For example, decreases in short-term interest rates, such as those announced by the Federal Reserve during 2020, including in response to COVID-19, may have a negative impact on our results, as we have certain assets and liabilities which are sensitive to changes in interest rates. We expect interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future. These market interest rate declines may negatively affect our results of operations.

A significant portion of our investments are in Non-Agency RMBS that are the most subordinate securities in securitizations, making us the first-loss security holder, which means these securities are subject to significant credit risk, are illiquid, and are difficult to value.

A significant portion of our Non-Agency RMBS are subordinate classes we have acquired through securitization of mortgage loans. The mortgage loans we have securitized are generally recorded on our balance sheet as “securitized mortgage loans” for GAAP purposes, but in effect we own these assets in the form of securities. A substantial portion of the mortgage loans that we securitize and the subordinate securities that we retain are not newly originated “prime mortgage loans” but rather seasoned reperforming mortgage loans and Non-QM loans that have less strict underwriting standards and are therefore subject to greater risk of loss, as discussed below.

When we securitize mortgage loans, we sell the most senior securities backed by those loans and retain the most subordinate classes of securities, which means we are the first-loss security holder and the securities we own represent a portion of the “securitized mortgage loans” on our balance sheet. Losses on any residential mortgage loan securing our RMBS will be borne first by the owner of the property (i.e., the owner will first lose any equity invested in the property) and, thereafter, by us as the first-loss security holder, and then by holders of more senior securities. If the losses incurred upon loan default exceed any reserve fund, letter of credit, and classes of securities junior to those we own (if any), we may not be able to recover our investment in such securities. Also, if the underlying properties have been overvalued by the originating appraiser or if the values subsequently decline resulting in less collateral available to satisfy interest and principal payments due on the related security, as the first-loss security holder, we may suffer a total loss of principal, followed by losses on the more senior securities (or other RMBS that we may own). Losses with respect to these investments, which are subject to significant credit risk, could increase or otherwise be higher than anticipated. For a description of the credit risk we are exposed to, see the Risk Factor below captioned “The nature of the mortgage loans we acquire and that underlie the MBS we acquire, exposes us to credit risk that could negatively affect the value of those assets and investments.” As discussed in the Risk Factors above, credit risks associated with our investments are heightened during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those being experienced now as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, many of our Non-Agency RMBS securities are first loss and subject to the Risk Retention Rules (see the Risk Factor directly below regarding the Risk Retention Rules) and are therefore illiquid for a period of time. The fair value of securities, especially our first loss credit risk retention securities, reperforming mortgage loans (loans that typically were significantly delinquent and subsequently modified), and other investments we make that are not frequently traded may not be readily determinable and it may be difficult to obtain third party pricing on such investments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant increase in liquidation sales and few secondary market trades. Also, validating third party pricing for illiquid investments may be more subjective than more liquid investments and may not be reliable. Illiquid investments may also experience greater price volatility because an active market does not exist. We value our investments quarterly based on our judgment and in accordance with our valuation policy. Because such valuations are inherently uncertain, our fair value determination may differ materially from the values obtained from third parties or the values that would have been used, if an active trading market existed for these investments. Our results of operations, financial condition and business could be materially adversely affected if our fair value determinations of the investments were materially higher than the values that would exist if a ready market existed for these assets.

The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult, or impossible for certain assets subject to the Risk Retention Rules, for us to sell and these assets may be more difficult to finance. Also, if we quickly liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio (for example, to meet a margin call, as we did with the sale of our entire Agency RMBS portfolio at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our investments. Thus, our ability to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic, and other conditions may be relatively limited, which could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and the value of our capital stock. This risk may be more

pronounced during any severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A significant portion of the RMBS we acquire through securitization is subject to the U.S. credit risk retention rules which materially limit our ability to sell or hedge such investments as needed, which may require us to hold investments that we may otherwise desire to sell during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A significant part of our business and growth strategy is to engage in securitization transactions to finance the acquisition of residential mortgage loans. Pursuant to the Risk Retention Rules, when we sponsor a residential mortgage loan securitization, we are required to retain at least 5% of the fair value of the mortgage-backed securities issued in the securitization. We can retain either an “eligible vertical interest” (which consists of at least 5% of each class of securities issued in the securitization), an “eligible horizontal residual interest” (which is the most subordinate class of securities with a fair market value of at least 5% of the aggregate credit risk) or a combination of both totaling 5%, or the Required Credit Risk. We typically own the eligible horizontal residual interest. We are required to hold the Required Credit Risk until the later of (i) the fifth anniversary of the securitization closing date and (ii) the date on which the aggregate unpaid principal balance of the mortgage loans in such securitization has been reduced to 25% of the aggregate unpaid principal balance of the mortgage loans as of the securitization closing date, but no longer than the seventh anniversary of the closing date (such date, the Sunset Date). In addition, before the Sunset Date, we may not engage in any hedging transactions if payments on the hedge instrument are materially related to the Required Credit Risk and the hedge position would limit our financial exposure to the Required Credit Risk. Also, we may not pledge our interest in any Required Credit Risk as collateral for any financing unless such financing is full recourse to us. We have financed our Required Credit Risk in full recourse transactions. Our Required Credit Risk subjects us to the first losses on our securitizations and is illiquid which may make it more difficult to meet our liquidity needs, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business and financing condition. Thus, the Risk Retention Rules materially limit our ability to sell and hedge a portion of our RMBS that we acquire through our securitizations and subjects us to the credit risk related to the retained RMBS that we otherwise may have sold. This risk may be more pronounced during any severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have a significant amount of investments in Non-Agency MBS collateralized by mortgage loans that do not meet the prime loan underwriting standards and are subject to increased risk of losses (particularly during periods of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic).

A significant portion of the Non-Agency MBS we have acquired on the secondary market or retained in our securitizations are backed by collateral pools containing mortgage loans that were originated using underwriting standards that were less strict than those used in underwriting “prime mortgage loans.” These lower standards permitted mortgage loans, often with LTV ratios exceeding 80%, to be made to borrowers having impaired credit histories, lower credit scores, higher debt-to-income ratios or unverified income. Such mortgage loans are likely to experience delinquency, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and other losses at rates that are higher, may be substantially higher, than those experienced by prime mortgage loans. Thus, the performance of our Non-Agency MBS that are backed by these types of loans could be correspondingly lower than those backed by prime mortgage loans especially during times of economic stress, which could materially adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition, and business. This risk is more pronounced during periods of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nature of the mortgage loans we acquire and that underlie the MBS we acquire, exposes us to credit risk that could negatively affect the value of those assets and investments.

We assume credit risk primarily through the ownership of securities backed by residential, multi-family, and commercial real estate loans and through direct investments in residential real estate loans. The substantial majority of our investment assets are subject to various credit risks, as discussed below.

No U.S. Government Guarantee. We acquire residential loans including reperforming loans, nonperforming loans (the borrower is severely delinquent), and Non-QMs, which are subject to increased risk of loss. Unlike Agency RMBS, residential mortgage loans generally are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any government-sponsored enterprise such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additionally, by directly acquiring residential loans, we do not receive the structural credit enhancements that benefit senior tranches of RMBS. A residential loan is directly exposed to losses resulting from the default. Therefore, the value of the underlying property, the creditworthiness and financial position of the borrower, and the priority and enforceability of the lien will significantly impact the value of such mortgage loan. In the event of a foreclosure, we may assume direct ownership of the underlying real estate. The liquidation proceeds upon sale of such real estate may not be sufficient to recover our cost basis in the loan, and any costs or delays involved in the foreclosure or liquidation process may increase losses. The value of residential loans is also subject to property damage caused by hazards, such as earthquakes or environmental hazards, not covered by standard property insurance policies and to a reduction in a borrower's mortgage debt by a bankruptcy court. In addition, claims may be assessed against us because of our position as a mortgage holder or property owner, including assignee liability, environmental hazards, and other liabilities. We could also be responsible for property taxes. In some cases, these claims may lead to losses exceeding the purchase price of the related mortgage or property. The occurrence of any of these risks could materially adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition, and business.

Enhanced Non-QM Loan Risks. In addition, we may from time to time acquire Non-QMs that will not have the benefit of enhanced legal protections otherwise available to residential mortgage loans originated to a more restrictive credit standard than just determining a borrower’s ability to repay. The ownership of Non-QMs will subject us to legal, regulatory and other risks, including those arising under federal consumer protection laws and regulations designed to regulate residential mortgage loan underwriting and originators’ lending processes, standards, and disclosures to borrowers. Failure of residential mortgage loan originators or servicers to comply with the ability-to-repay laws and regulations could subject us, as an assignee or purchaser of these loans (or as an investor in securities backed by these loans), to monetary penalties assessed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, through its administrative enforcement authority and by mortgagors through a private right of action against lenders or as a defense to foreclosure, including by recoupment or setoff of finance charges and fees collected, and could result in rescission of the affected residential mortgage loans, which could adversely impact our business and financial results.

Greater General Credit Risks. In addition, credit losses on residential real estate loans can occur for many reasons (many of which are beyond our control), including: fraud; poor underwriting; poor servicing practices; weak economic conditions; increases in payments required to be made by borrowers; declines in the value of homes; earthquakes, the effects of climate change (including flooding, drought, wildfire and severe weather), and other natural disaster events; uninsured property loss; borrower over-leveraging; costs of remediation of environmental conditions, such as indoor mold; changes in zoning or building codes and the related costs of compliance; acts of war or terrorism; pandemics; changes in legal protections for borrowers and other changes in law or regulation; and personal events affecting borrowers, such as reduction in income and job loss. These and other credit-related risks have increased by the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the amount and timing of credit losses could be affected by loan modifications, delays in the liquidation process, documentation errors, and other action by servicers. Weakness in the U.S. economy or the housing market could cause our credit losses to increase beyond levels that we currently anticipate.

Changes in prepayment rates could negatively affect the value of our investment portfolio, which could result in reduced earnings or losses and negatively affect the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

There are seldom any restrictions on borrowers’ abilities to prepay their residential mortgage loans. Homeowners tend to prepay mortgage loans faster when interest rates decline. Consequently, owners of the loans have to reinvest the money received from the prepayments at the lower prevailing interest rates. Conversely, homeowners tend not to prepay mortgage loans when interest rates increase. Consequently, owners of the loans are unable to reinvest money that would have otherwise been received from prepayments at the higher prevailing interest rates. A significant portion of the loans underlying our RMBS was originated before the 2008 financial crisis and possess higher than current prevailing interest rates. Accordingly, we may experience higher prepayment rates even in a rising interest rate environment due to the strong economy and origination profiles of the loans underlying our RMBS.

Volatility in prepayment rates may affect our ability to maintain targeted amounts of leverage and return on our portfolio of residential mortgage loans and RMBS and may result in reduced earnings or losses for us and negatively affect the cash available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, if we purchased an investment at a premium, faster than expected prepayments will result in a faster than expected amortization of the premium paid, which would adversely affect our earnings. Conversely, if these investments were purchased at a discount, faster than expected prepayments accelerate our recognition of income. Increased prepayments also increase our reinvestment risk as we look to replace those assets with new investments. See below “New assets we acquire may not generate yields as attractive as yields on our current assets, which could result in a decline in our earnings per share over time” for details.

New assets we acquire may not generate yields as attractive as yields on our current assets, which could result in a decline in our earnings per share over time.

We expect that the assets we acquire or invest in may not generate the economic returns and GAAP yields of our existing portfolio. A significant portion of our securitized residential mortgage loans was originated before the 2008 financial crisis and have mortgage interest rates exceeding mortgage interest rates currently available to newly originated residential mortgage loans. In addition, after the 2008 financial crisis, we acquired residential mortgage-backed securities at a significant discount and re-securitized them, retaining high-yielding subordinate securities.

To maintain our portfolio size and our earnings, we must reinvest in new assets a portion of the cash flows we receive from principal, interest, and loan sales. However, prepayments, defaults, and loan amortization have reduced the supply of these pre-crisis assets. Also, investors seeking higher-yielding assets have created a significant demand for the remaining assets which may make it difficult for us to acquire such assets and reducing the return on assets we do acquire. Accordingly, realized cash flow from new investments could be significantly lower than expected and returns from new investments and acquisitions could be negative. We may also sell assets from time to time as part of our portfolio and capital management strategies. Principal payments, calls, and sales reduce the size of our current portfolio and generate cash for us. If the assets we invest in or acquire in the future earn lower GAAP yields than do the assets we currently own, our reported earnings per share could decline over time as the older assets are paid down or are sold, assuming comparable expenses, credit costs, and market valuation adjustments.

A significant portion of our Non-Agency MBS and residential loans are secured by properties in a small number of geographic areas and may be disproportionately affected by economic or housing downturns, natural disasters, terrorist events, regulatory changes, or other adverse events specific to those markets.

A significant number of the mortgages underlying our Non-Agency MBS and Loans held for investments are concentrated in certain geographic areas. For example, we have significant exposure in California, New York and Florida. For further information on the geographic concentration of our investments see Note 3 and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements within this 2020 Form 10-K. Certain markets within these states (particularly in California and Florida) have experienced significant decreases in residential home values from time to time. Any event that adversely affects the economy or real estate market in any of these states could have a disproportionately adverse effect on our Non-Agency MBS and Loans held for investments. In general, any material decline in the economy or significant problems in a particular real estate market would likely cause a decline in the value of residential properties securing the mortgages in that market, thereby increasing the risk of delinquency, default, and foreclosure of mortgage loans underlying our Non-Agency MBS and residential loan investments and the risk of loss upon liquidation of these assets. Investors should consider the impact that the recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the mortgage market and ability of mortgagors to make timely payments on their mortgage loans. Furthermore, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may result in a decline in real estate values (particularly in certain geographic areas). This could have a material adverse effect on our Non-Agency MBS credit loss experience and residential loan investments in the affected market if higher-than-expected rates of default or higher-than-expected loss severities on such loans were to occur.

In addition, the occurrence of a natural disaster or a terrorist attack may cause a sudden decrease in the value of real estate in the area or areas affected and would likely reduce the value of the properties securing the mortgages collateralizing our Non-Agency MBS or Loans held for investments. Because certain natural disasters such as hurricanes or certain flooding are not

typically covered by the standard hazard insurance policies maintained by borrowers, or the proceeds payable under any such policy are not sufficient to cover the related repairs, the affected borrowers may have to pay for any repairs themselves. Under these circumstances, borrowers may decide not to repair their property or may stop paying their mortgages. This would cause defaults and credit loss severities to increase.

Changes in local laws and regulations, fiscal policies, property taxes and zoning ordinances in such states can also have a negative impact on property values, which could result in borrowers’ deciding to stop paying their mortgages. This circumstance could cause defaults and loss severities to increase, thereby adversely impacting our results of operations.

We may change our investment strategy, asset allocation, or financing plans without stockholder consent, which may result in riskier investments.

We may change our investment strategy, asset allocation, or financing plans at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the investments described in this 2020 Form 10-K. For example, during 2020 and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we sold our entire Agency RMBS portfolio and became more concentrated in credit-risk assets, and have also balanced our repurchase agreement financing with more non-market-to-market facilities.

A change in our investment strategy or financing plans may increase our exposure to interest rate and default risk and real estate market fluctuations. Furthermore, a change in our asset allocation could result in our making investments in asset categories different from those described in this 2020 Form 10-K. Additionally, we may enter other operating businesses that may or may not be closely related to our current business. These new assets or business operations may have new, different or increased risks than what we are currently exposed to in our business and we may not be able to manage these risks successfully. Additionally, when investing in new assets or businesses we will be exposed to the risk that those assets, or income generated by those assets or businesses, will affect our ability to meet the requirements to maintain our qualification as a REIT or our exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. If we are not able to successfully manage the risks associated with new asset types or businesses, it could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Interest rate fluctuations may have various negative effects on us and may lead to reduced earnings and increased volatility in our earnings.

Changes in interest rates, the interrelationships between various interest rates, and interest rate volatility may have negative effects on our earnings, the fair value of our assets and liabilities, loan prepayment rates, and our access to liquidity. Changes in interest rates may harm the credit performance of our assets. We generally seek to hedge some but not all interest rate risks. Our hedging may not work effectively, and we may change our hedging strategies or the degree or type of interest rate risk we assume.

Some of the loans and securities we own or may acquire have adjustable-rate coupons (i.e., they may earn interest at a rate that adjusts periodically based on an interest rate index) and some of the subordinate securities we own are entitled to cash flow only after the more senior securities have been paid and those senior securities have adjustable-rate coupons. As such, the cash flows, and earnings, we receive from these assets may vary as a function of interest rates. For example, if interest rates increase, the cash flow we receive from securities with adjustable-rate coupons is expected to increase while the cash flow we receive on securities that are subordinate to adjustable-rate securities may decrease. We also acquire loans and securities for future sale, as assets we are accumulating for securitization, or as a longer-term investment. We expect to fund assets, loans, and securities with a combination of equity and debt. If we use adjustable rate debt to fund assets that have a fixed interest rate (or use fixed rate debt to fund assets that have an adjustable interest rate), an interest rate mismatch could exist and we could earn less (and fair values could decline) if interest rates rise, at least for a time. We may seek to mitigate interest rate mismatches for these assets with hedges such as swaps and other derivatives, which may not be successful.

Higher interest rates generally reduce the fair value of many of our assets and increase the cost of our financing. This may affect our earnings results, reduce our ability to securitize, re-securitize, or sell our assets, or reduce our liquidity. Higher interest rates could reduce borrowers’ ability to make interest payments or to refinance their loans. Higher interest rates could reduce

property values and increased credit losses could result. Higher interest rates could reduce mortgage originations, thus reducing our opportunities to acquire new assets. In addition, when short-term interest rates are high relative to long-term interest rates, an increase in adjustable-rate residential loan prepayments may occur, which would likely reduce our returns from owning interest-only securities backed by adjustable-rate residential loans.

Changes in the fair values of our assets, liabilities, and derivatives can have various negative effects on us, including reduced earnings, increased earnings volatility, and volatility in our book value.

Fair values for our assets and liabilities, including derivatives, can be volatile and our revenue and income can be impacted by changes in fair values. The fair values can change rapidly and significantly, and changes can result from changes in interest rates, perceived risk, supply, demand, and actual and projected cash flows, prepayments, and credit performance. A decrease in fair value may not necessarily be the result of deterioration in future cash flows. Fair values for illiquid assets can be difficult to estimate, which may lead to volatility and uncertainty of earnings and book value.

For GAAP purposes, we may mark to market most, but not all, of the assets and liabilities on our Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. In addition, valuation adjustments on certain consolidated assets and our derivatives are reflected in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. Assets that are funded with certain liabilities and hedges may have different mark-to-market treatment than the liability or hedge. If we sell an asset that has not been marked to market through our Consolidated Statements of Operations at a reduced market price relative to its cost basis, our reported earnings will be reduced.

Our loan sale profit margins are generally reflective of gains (or losses) over the period from when we identify a loan for purchase until we subsequently sell or securitize the loan. These profit margins may encompass elements of positive or negative market valuation adjustments on loans, hedging gains or losses associated with related risk management activities, and any other related transaction expenses; however, under GAAP, the different elements may be realized unevenly over the course of one or more quarters for financial reporting purposes, with the result that our financial results may be more volatile and less reflective of the underlying economics of our business activity.

Our calculations of the fair value of the assets we own or consolidate are based upon assumptions that are inherently subjective and involve a high degree of management judgment, and such assumptions may be more difficult to calculate during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We report the fair values of securities, loans, derivatives, and certain other assets on our Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. In computing the fair values for these assets, we may make several market-based assumptions, including assumptions regarding future interest rates, prepayment rates, discount rates, credit loss rates, and the timing of credit losses. These assumptions are inherently subjective and involve a high degree of management judgment, particularly for illiquid securities and other assets for which market prices are not readily determinable. These assumptions may be more difficult to calculate during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information regarding our assets recorded at fair value see Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements within this 2020 Form 10-K. Use of different assumptions could materially affect our fair value calculations and our financial results and our actual experience may cause us to substantially revise our assumptions. Further discussion of the risk of our ownership and valuation of illiquid securities is set forth in the Risk Factors above and in this 2020 Form 10-K.

The federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and related efforts, along with any changes in laws and regulations affecting the relationship between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the U.S. Government, may materially adversely affect our business.

The future roles of the GSEs may be reduced (perhaps significantly) and the nature of their guarantee obligations could be limited relative to historical measurements. Alternatively, it is possible that the GSEs could be dissolved entirely or privatized, and, the U.S. Government could determine to stop providing liquidity support of any kind to the mortgage market. Any changes

to the nature of the GSEs or their guarantee obligations could redefine what constitutes an Agency MBS and could have broad adverse implications for the market and our business, operations and financial condition. If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac were eliminated, or their structures were to change radically (limiting or removing the guarantee obligation), we could be unable to acquire additional Agency MBS and our existing Agency MBS could be materially and adversely impacted.

We could be negatively affected in several ways depending on how events unfold for the GSEs. We could be unable to acquire additional Agency MBS or negatively affect the spreads at which they trade, and the value of our existing Agency MBS could be materially adversely impacted. Also, we rely on our Agency MBS as collateral for a significant portion of our financings. Any decline in our Agency MBS value, or perceived market uncertainty about their value, would make it more difficult for us to obtain financing on our Agency MBS on acceptable terms or at all, or to maintain our compliance with the terms of any financing transactions.

The recent U.S. elections may result in changes in federal policy with significant impacts on the legal and regulatory framework affecting the mortgage industry. These changes, including personnel changes at the applicable regulatory agencies, may alter the nature and scope of oversight affecting the mortgage finance industry generally (particularly with respect to the future role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

Risks Related to Financing and Hedging

Our inability to access funding or the terms on which such funding is available could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, particularly during times of severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our ability to fund our operations, meet financial obligations and finance target asset acquisitions may be impacted by our ability to secure and maintain our master repurchase agreements, warehouse facilities and repurchase agreement facilities with our counterparties. Because repurchase agreements and warehouse facilities are short-term commitments of capital, lenders may respond to market conditions making it more difficult for us to renew or replace on a continuous basis our maturing short-term borrowings and have and may continue to impose more onerous conditions when rolling such financings. If we are not able to renew our existing facilities or arrange for new financing on terms acceptable to us, or if we default on our covenants or are otherwise unable to access funds under our financing facilities or if we are required to post more collateral or face larger haircuts, we may have to curtail our asset acquisition activities and/or dispose of assets at a loss.

Issues related to financing are exacerbated in times of significant dislocation in the financial markets, such as those experienced related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is possible our lenders will become unwilling or unable to provide us with financing and we could be forced to sell our assets at an inopportune time when prices are depressed (all of which are conditions that we experienced in 2020). In addition, if the regulatory capital requirements imposed on our lenders change, they may be required to significantly increase the cost of the financing that they provide to us. Our lenders also have and may continue to revise their eligibility requirements for the types of assets they are willing to finance or the terms of such financings, including haircuts and requiring additional collateral in the form of cash, based on, among other factors, the regulatory environment and their management of actual and perceived risk, particularly with respect to assignee liability. Moreover, the amount of financing we receive under our repurchase agreements will be directly related to our lenders’ valuation of our target assets that cover the outstanding borrowings. Typically, repurchase agreements grant the lender the absolute right to reevaluate the fair market value of the assets that cover outstanding borrowings at any time. If a lender determines in its sole discretion that the value of the assets has decreased, it has the right to initiate a margin call. These valuations may be different than the values that we ascribe to these assets and may be influenced by recent asset sales and distressed levels by forced sellers. A margin call requires us to transfer additional assets to a lender without any advance of funds from the lender for such transfer or to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings.

During the first two quarters of 2020, we observed a mark-down of a portion of our mortgage assets by the counterparties to our financing arrangements, resulting in us having to pay cash or securities to satisfy margin calls. We also sold our Agency RMBS portfolio to increase liquidity and reduce our exposure to margin calls. The margin calls had a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, business, liquidity and ability to make distributions to our stockholders. In addition,

we have also experienced an increase in haircuts on financings we have rolled. If haircuts are increased, we will be required to post additional collateral. As a result of these developments we have entered into longer term financing arrangements as well as non-mark-to-market and mark-to-market holiday facilities, which have increased our financing costs and had a negative impact on our profitability. These trends, if continued, will have a negative adverse impact on our liquidity.

Our business strategy involves the use of leverage. We may not achieve what we believe to be optimal levels of leverage or we may become overleveraged, which may materially adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations or financial condition.

Our business strategy involves the use of borrowing, or leverage. Pursuant to our leverage strategy, we borrow against a substantial portion of the market value of our assets and use the borrowed funds to finance our investment portfolio and the acquisition of additional investment assets. We are not required to maintain any particular debt-to-equity ratio. Future increases in the amount by which the collateral value is required to contractually exceed the amount borrowed in such leverage financing transactions, decreases in the market value of our residential mortgage investments, increases in interest rate volatility and changes in the availability of acceptable financing could cause us to be unable to achieve the amount of leverage we believe to be optimal. The return on our assets and cash available for distribution to our stockholders may be reduced to the extent that changes in market conditions prevent us from achieving the desired amount of leverage on our investments or cause the cost of our financing to increase relative to the income earned on our leveraged assets. For example, in response to the changes in rates and margins calls we received during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered into several non-mark-to-market and mark-to-market holiday financing facilities. These facilities typically have higher interest rates and cash trapping provisions which reduce the net cash we receive from these levered assets. If the interest income on the investments that we have purchased with borrowed funds fails to cover the interest expense of the related borrowings, we will experience net interest losses and may experience net losses from operations. Such losses could be significant because of our leveraged structure. The risks associated with leverage are more acute during periods of economic slowdown or recession, which the U.S. economy has experienced in connection with the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of leverage to finance our investments involves many other risks, including, among other things, the following:

•Our profitability may be materially adversely affected by a reduction in our leverage. As long as we earn a positive spread between interest and other income we earn on our leveraged assets and our borrowing costs, we believe that we can generally increase our profitability by using greater amounts of leverage. There can be no assurance, however, that repurchase financing will remain an efficient source of long-term financing for our assets. The amount of leverage that we use may be limited because our lenders might not make funding available to us at acceptable rates or they may require that we provide additional collateral to secure our borrowings. If our financing strategy is not viable, we will have to find alternative forms of financing for our assets which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at acceptable rates. In addition, in response to certain interest rate and investment environments or to changes in market liquidity, we could adopt a strategy of reducing our leverage by selling assets or not reinvesting principal payments as MBS amortize or prepay, thereby decreasing the outstanding amount of our related borrowings. Such an action could reduce interest income, interest expense and net income, the extent of which would depend on the level of reduction in assets and liabilities as well as the sale prices for which the assets were sold.

•An increase in our borrowing costs relative to the interest we receive on our assets may materially adversely affect our profitability. Our earnings are primarily generated from the difference between the interest income we earn on our investment portfolio, less net amortization of purchase premiums and discounts, and the interest expense we pay on our borrowings. Historically, we relied primarily on borrowings under repurchase agreements to finance our investments, which have short-term contractual maturities. However, as a result of the decrease in value of our assets and the subsequent margin calls we received during the early phases of the COVID-19 crises, we move some of our financing to longer-term mark-to-market financing and longer-term non-market-to-market and market holiday financing which is more expensive that traditional short-term mark-to-market financing. In general, if the interest expense on our borrowings increases relative to the interest income we earn on our investments, our profitability may be materially adversely affected. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors, including fiscal and monetary policies and domestic and international economic and political conditions, as well as other factors beyond our control. During a period of rising interest rates, our borrowing costs generally will increase at a faster pace than our interest

earnings on the leveraged portion of our investment portfolio, which could result in a decline in our net interest spread and net interest margin. The severity of any such decline would depend on our asset/liability composition, including the impact of hedging transactions, at the time as well as the magnitude and period over which interest rates increase. Further, an increase in short-term interest rates could also have a negative impact on the market value of our investments. If any of these events happen, we could experience a decrease in net income or incur a net loss during these periods.

•A decline in the market value of our assets may result in margin calls that may force us to sell assets under adverse market conditions, which may materially adversely affect our liquidity and profitability. In general, the market value of our residential mortgage investments is impacted by changes in interest rates, prevailing market yields and other market conditions, including general economic conditions, home prices, and the real estate market generally. A decline in the market value of our residential mortgage investments may limit our ability to borrow against such assets or result in lenders initiating margin calls, which require a pledge of additional collateral or cash to re-establish the required ratio of borrowing to collateral value, under our repurchase agreements. For example, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and related market dislocations, we experienced significantly higher margin calls and haircuts with respect to our repurchase agreements. Posting additional collateral or cash to support our credit will reduce our liquidity and limit our ability to leverage our assets, which could materially adversely affect our business. Thus, we could be forced to sell a portion of our assets, including MBS in an unrealized loss position, to maintain liquidity.

•If a counterparty to our repurchase transactions defaults on its obligation to resell the underlying security back to us at the end of the transaction term or if we default on our obligations under the repurchase agreement, we could incur losses. When we engage in repurchase transactions, we generally sell assets to the counterparty to the agreement for cash. Because the cash we receive from the counterparty is less than the value of those securities (this difference is referred to as the “haircut”), if the lender defaults on its obligation to transfer the same securities back to us, we would incur a loss on the transaction equal to the amount of the haircut (assuming there was no change in the value of the securities). (See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this 2020 Form 10-K, for further discussion regarding risks related to exposure to financial institution counterparties in light of recent market conditions.) Our exposure to defaults by counterparties may be more pronounced during periods of significant volatility in the market conditions for mortgages and mortgage-related assets as well as the broader financial markets. At December 31, 2020 the Company had amounts at risk with Goldman Sachs and Nomura of 17% and 11%, respectively, of its equity related to the collateral posted on secured financing agreements. The weighted average maturities of the secured financing agreements with Goldman Sachs and Nomura were 938 and 106 days, respectively. The amounts at risk with Goldman Sachs and Nomura were $649 million and $421 million, respectively. There were no other amounts at risk with any other counterparties greater than 10% of the Company’s equity as of December 31, 2020. In addition, generally, if we default on a repurchase transaction the counterparty could liquidate the assets and use the proceeds to repay the amounts it is sold. If the amount received from the sale is equal to or less than the amount they are owed, we will incur a loss equal to the haircut and the counterparty has recourse to us to repay any remaining deficiency. In addition, if we default on a transaction under any one agreement and fail to honor the related guarantee, the counterparties on our other repurchase agreements could also declare a default under their respective repurchase agreements. Any losses we incur on our repurchase transactions could materially adversely affect our earnings and thus our cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

•Our financing facilities may contain covenants that restrict our operations. Certain financing facilities we may enter contain restrictions, covenants, and representations and warranties that, among other things, may require us to satisfy specified financial, asset quality, loan eligibility, and loan performance tests. If we fail to meet or satisfy any of these covenants or representations and warranties, we would be in default under these agreements and our lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the agreements to be immediately due and payable, enforce their respective rights against collateral pledged under such agreements, and restrict our ability to make additional borrowings. Certain financing agreements may contain cross-default provisions by a guarantor so that if a default occurs under any guaranty agreement, the lenders under our other agreements could also declare a default under their respective agreements. Further, under our mark-to-market agreements, we are typically required to pledge additional

assets to our lenders in the event the estimated fair value of the existing pledged collateral under such agreements declines and such lenders demand additional collateral, which may take the form of additional securities, loans or cash. These restrictions may interfere with our ability to obtain financing or to engage in other business activities, which may have a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. A default and resulting repayment acceleration could significantly reduce our liquidity, which could require us to sell our assets to repay amounts due and outstanding. This could also significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could cause the value of our capital stock to decline. A default will also significantly limit our financing alternatives such that we will be unable to pursue our leverage strategy, which could lower our investment returns.

•Adverse developments involving major financial institutions or involving one of our lenders could result in a rapid reduction in our ability to borrow and materially adversely affect our business, profitability, and liquidity. As of December 31, 2020, we had amounts outstanding under repurchase agreements with 16 separate lenders. A material adverse development involving one or more major financial institutions or the financial markets, in general, could result in our lenders reducing our access to funds available under our repurchase agreements or terminating such repurchase agreements altogether. Because substantially all our repurchase agreements are uncommitted and renewable at our lenders’ discretion, our lenders could determine to reduce or terminate our access to future borrowings at virtually any time, which could materially adversely affect our business and profitability. Furthermore, if a few of our lenders became unwilling or unable to continue to provide us with financing, we could be forced to sell assets, including assets in unrealized loss positions, to maintain liquidity. Forced sales, particularly under adverse market conditions, may result in lower sale prices than ordinary market sales made in the normal course of business. If our investments were liquidated at prices below our amortized cost of such assets, we would incur losses, which would adversely affect our earnings. We and many other mortgage REITs experienced these conditions in 2020 in connection with conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, uncertainty in the global finance market and weak economic conditions in Europe, including the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (commonly referred to as “Brexit”), could cause the conditions described above to have a more pronounced effect on our European counterparties.

•Our use of repurchase agreements to borrow money may give our lenders greater rights in the event of bankruptcy. In the event of our insolvency or bankruptcy, certain repurchase agreements may qualify for special treatment under the Bankruptcy Code, the effect of which, among other things, would be to allow the creditor under the agreement to avoid the automatic stay provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and take possession of, and liquidate, the collateral under such repurchase agreements without delay.

•A re-characterization of the repurchase agreements as sales for tax purposes rather than as secured lending transactions would adversely affect our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT and to maintain our 1940 Act exemption. When we enter a repurchase agreement, we generally sell assets to our counterparty to the agreement for cash. The counterparty is obligated to resell the assets back to us at the end of the transaction term. We believe that for U.S. federal income tax purposes we will be treated as the owner of the assets that are the subject of repurchase agreements and that the repurchase agreements will be treated as secured lending transactions notwithstanding that such agreement may transfer record ownership of the assets to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS or the SEC could successfully assert that we did not own these assets during the term of the repurchase agreements, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT or fail to maintain our 1940 Act exemption, respectively.

Changes in banks’ inter-bank lending rate reporting practices, the method pursuant to which LIBOR is determined or elimination of LIBOR may adversely affect the value of the financial obligations to be held or issued by us that are linked to LIBOR as well as adjustable-rate mortgage loans we hold.

The interest rates on our repurchase agreements, as well as adjustable-rate mortgage loans in our securitizations, are generally based on LIBOR, which is subject to recent national, international, and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. Some of these reforms are already effective while others are still to be implemented. These reforms may cause such

benchmarks to perform differently than in the past or have other consequences which cannot be predicted. In particular, regulators and law enforcement agencies in the U.K. and elsewhere are conducting criminal and civil investigations into whether the banks that contribute information to the British Bankers’ Association, or BBA, in connection with the daily calculation of LIBOR may have been under-reporting or otherwise manipulating or attempting to manipulate LIBOR. A number of BBA member banks have entered settlements with their regulators and law enforcement agencies with respect to this alleged manipulation of LIBOR. Actions by the regulators or law enforcement agencies, as well as ICE Benchmark Administration (the current administrator of LIBOR), may result in changes to the way LIBOR is determined or the establishment of alternative reference rates. For example, on July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021.

Currently, it is not possible to predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative reference rates or any other reforms to LIBOR that may be implemented in the U.K. or elsewhere. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential changes, alternative reference rates or other reforms may adversely affect the rates on our repurchase facilities, securitizations or residential loans held for longer-term investment. If LIBOR is discontinued or is no longer quoted, the applicable base rate used to calculate interest on our repurchase agreements will be determined using alternative methods. In the U.S., efforts to identify a set of U.S. dollar reference interest rates include proposals by the Alternative Reference Rates Committee of the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with the Secured Overnight Funding Rate, or SOFR. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began publishing SOFR rates in April 2018. The market transition away from LIBOR and towards SOFR is expected to be gradual and complicated. There are significant differences between LIBOR and SOFR, such as LIBOR being an unsecured lending rate and SOFR a secured lending rate, another is SOFR is an overnight rate and LIBOR reflects term rates at different maturities. These and other differences create the potential for basis risk between the two rates. The impact of any basis risk difference between LIBOR and SOFR may negatively affect our net interest margin. Any of these alternative methods may result in interest rates that are higher than if the LIBOR Rate was available in its current form, which could have a material adverse effect on our net interest margin. In addition, the manner and timing of the shift is currently unknown. Market participants are still considering how various types of financial instruments and securitization vehicles should react to a discontinuation of LIBOR. It is possible that not all of our assets and liabilities will transition away from LIBOR at the same time, and it is possible that not all of our assets and liabilities will transition to the same alternative reference rate, in each case increasing the difficulty of hedging. We and other market participants have less experience understanding and modeling SOFR-based assets and liabilities than LIBOR-based assets and liabilities, increasing the difficulty of investing, hedging, and risk management. The process of transition involves operational risks. It is also possible that no transition will occur for many financial instruments.

Any additional changes announced by the FCA, other regulators or any other successor governance or oversight body, or future changes adopted by such body, in the method pursuant to which reference rates are determined may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in the reported reference rates. If that were to occur, the level of interest payments we incur may change. Although certain of our LIBOR based obligations provide for alternative methods of calculating the interest rate payable on certain of our obligations if LIBOR is not reported, which include requesting certain rates from major reference banks in London or New York, or alternatively using LIBOR for the immediately preceding interest period or using the initial interest rate, as applicable, uncertainty as to the extent and manner of future changes may result.

Hedging against interest rate exposure may not be successful in mitigating the risks associated with interest rates and may adversely affect our earnings, which could reduce our cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, we pursue various hedging strategies to seek to reduce our exposure to losses from adverse changes in interest rates. Our hedging activity varies in scope based on the level and volatility of interest rates, the type of assets held, financing used, and other changing market conditions. There are no perfect hedging strategies, and interest rate hedging may fail to protect us from loss. Alternatively, we may fail to properly assess a risk to our investment portfolio or may fail to recognize a risk entirely, leaving us exposed to losses without the benefit of any offsetting hedging activities. The derivative financial instruments we select may not have the effect of reducing our interest rate risk. The nature and timing of hedging transactions may influence the effectiveness of these strategies. Poorly designed strategies or improperly

executed transactions could increase our risk and losses. In addition, hedging activities could result in losses if the event against which we hedge does not occur. For example, interest rate hedging could fail to protect us or adversely affect us because among other things:

•interest rate hedging can be expensive, particularly during periods of rising and volatile interest rates;

•available interest rate hedges may not correlate directly with the interest rate risk for which protection is sought;

•the duration of the hedge may not match the duration of the related liability;

•the amount of income that a REIT may earn from hedging transactions to offset interest rate losses may be limited by U.S. federal tax provisions governing REITs;

•the credit quality of the party owing money on the hedge may be downgraded to such an extent that it impairs our ability to sell or assign our side of the hedging transaction;

•the party owing money in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay; and

•the value of derivatives used for hedging may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with accounting rules to reflect changes in fair value. Downward adjustments, or “mark-to-market losses,” would reduce our stockholders’ equity.

Our hedging transactions, which are intended to limit losses, may limit gains and increase our exposure to losses. Thus, our hedging activity may adversely affect our earnings, which could reduce our cash available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, some hedging instruments involve risk since they are not currently traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities.

Clearing facilities or exchanges upon which some of our hedging instruments are traded may increase margin requirements on our hedging instruments in the event of uncertainty or adverse developments in financial markets.

In response to events having or expected to have adverse economic consequences or which create market uncertainty, clearing facilities or exchanges upon which some of our hedging instruments, such as interest rate swaps, are traded may require us to post additional collateral against our hedging instruments. Generally, the initial margin goes up in times of interest rate volatility. If future adverse economic developments or market uncertainty result in increased margin requirements for our hedging instruments, it could materially adversely affect our liquidity position, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have elected not to qualify for hedge accounting treatment for GAAP reporting.

We record derivative and hedge transactions in accordance with GAAP. Our interest rate swaps have not been designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes. Consequently, all changes in the fair value of swaps are reported as a component of net income in the Consolidated Statements of Operations rather than Accumulated other comprehensive income, (or AOCI), a component of stockholders' equity, which can make our GAAP net income volatile.

Risks Associated with Our Operations

Through certain of our wholly-owned subsidiaries we have engaged in the past, and expect to continue to engage in, securitization transactions relating to residential mortgage loans. These types of transactions and investments expose us to potentially material risks.

A significant part of our business and growth strategy is to engage in various securitization transactions related to mortgage assets, and such transactions expose us to potentially material risks, including without limitation:

Financing Risk: Engaging in securitization transactions and other similar transactions generally require us to incur short-term debt on a recourse basis to finance the accumulation of residential mortgage loans. If investor demand for securitization transactions weakens, we may be unable to complete the securitization of loans accumulated for that purpose, which may hurt our business or financial results.

Diligence Risk: We engage in due diligence with respect to the loans or other assets we are securitizing and make representations and warranties relating to those loans and assets. When conducting due diligence, we rely on resources and data available to us and on a review of the collateral by third parties, each of which may be limited. We may also only conduct due diligence on a sample of a pool of loans or assets we are acquiring and assume that the sample is representative of the entire pool. Our due diligence efforts may not reveal matters which could lead to losses. If our due diligence process is not robust enough, or the scope of our due diligence is limited, we may incur losses. Losses could occur because a counterparty that sold us a loan or other asset refuses or is unable (e.g., due to its financial condition) to repurchase that loan or asset or pay damages to us if we determine after purchase that one or more of the representations or warranties made to us was inaccurate or because we don’t get a representation or warranty that covers a discovered defect or violation. In addition, losses with respect to such loans will generally be borne by us as the holder of the “first-loss” securities in our securitizations.

Disclosure and Indemnity Risk: When engaging in securitization transactions, we also prepare marketing and disclosure documentation, including term sheets and prospectuses, that include disclosures regarding the securitization transactions, the securitization transaction agreements and the assets being securitized. If our marketing and disclosure documentation are alleged or found to contain inaccuracies or omissions, we may be liable under federal and state securities laws (or under other laws) for damages to third parties that invest in these securitization transactions, including in circumstances where we relied on a third party in preparing accurate disclosures, or we may incur other expenses and costs disputing these allegations or settling claims. Additionally, we typically retain various third party service providers when we engage in securitization transactions, including underwriters, trustees, administrative and paying agents, servicers and custodians, among others. We frequently contractually agree to indemnify these service providers against various claims and losses they may suffer from providing these services to us or the securitization trust. If any of these service providers are liable for damages to third parties that have invested in these securitization transactions, we may incur costs and expenses because of these indemnities.

Documentation Defects: In recent years, there has also been debate as to whether there are defects in the legal process and legal documents governing transactions in which securitization trusts and other secondary purchasers take legal ownership of residential mortgage loans and establish their rights as priority lien holders on underlying mortgaged property. If there are problems with the establishment of title and lien priority rights are transferred, securitization transactions that we sponsored and third party sponsored securitizations that we hold investments in may experience losses, which could expose us to losses and could damage our ability to engage in future securitization transactions.

Our ability to profitably execute or participate in future securitization transactions has been, and is expected to continue to be, negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A significant part of our business and growth strategy is to engage in various securitization transactions related to residential mortgage loans. There are many factors that can have a significant impact on our ability to profitably effectuate securitization transaction. One of these factors is the price we pay for the mortgage loans that we securitize, which, in the case of residential mortgage loans, is impacted by the level of competition in the marketplace for acquiring residential mortgage loans and the relative desirability to originators or other financial institutions of retaining residential mortgage loans as investments or selling them to third parties such as us. The cost and availability of the short-term debt we use to finance our mortgage loan before securitization impacts the profitability of our securitization transactions. This short-term debt cost is affected by several factors including its availability to us, its interest rate, its duration, and the percentage of our mortgage loans that third parties are willing to provide short-term financing, all of which have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After we acquire mortgage loans that we intend to securitize, we can also suffer losses if the value of those loans declines before securitization. Declines in the value of a residential mortgage loan, for example, can be due to, among other things, changes in interest rates, changes in the credit quality of the loan, changes in the projected yields required by investors to invest in securitization transactions, and increased delinquencies which we expect to occur as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hedging against a decline in loan value due to changes in interest rates may impact the profitability of a securitization.

The price that investors in mortgage-backed securities will pay for securities issued in our securitization transactions also has a significant impact on the profitability of the transactions to us, and these prices are impacted by numerous market forces and factors including the uncertainty, potential delinquencies, and lack of liquidity we are experiencing during the COVID-19

pandemic. In addition, the underwriter(s) or placement agent(s) we select for securitization transactions, the terms of their engagement and the transaction costs incurred in such securitizations can also impact the profitability of our securitizations. Also, any liability that we may incur, or may be required to reserve for when executing a transaction can cause a loss to us. To the extent that we are not able to profitably execute future securitizations of residential mortgage loans or other assets, including for the reasons described above or for other reasons, it could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial results.

We rely on third parties to perform certain services particularly as it relates to servicing, comply with applicable laws and regulations, and carry out contractual covenants and terms, the failure of which by any of these third parties may adversely impact our business and financial results.

To conduct our business of acquiring loans, engaging in securitization transactions, and investing in third party issued securities and other assets, we rely on third party service providers to perform certain services, comply with applicable laws and regulations, and carry out contractual covenants and terms. Thus, we are subject to the risks associated with a third party’s failure to perform, including failure to perform due to reasons such as fraud, negligence, errors, miscalculations, or insolvency. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic disruption it has caused may result in liquidity pressures on servicers and other third party vendors that we rely upon. For instance, as a result of an increase in mortgagors requesting relief in the form of forbearance plans and/or other loss mitigation, servicers and other parties responsible in capital markets securitization transactions for funding advances with respect to delinquent mortgagor payments of principal and interest may begin to experience financial difficulties if mortgagors do not make monthly payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The negative impact on the business and operations of such servicers or other parties responsible for funding such advances could be significant. Sources of liquidity typically available to servicers and other relevant parties for the purpose of funding advances of monthly mortgage payments, especially entities that are not depository institutions, may not be sufficient to meet the increased need that could result from significantly higher delinquency and/or forbearance rates. The extent of such liquidity pressures in the future is not known at this time and is subject to continual change.

We rely on third party servicers to service and manage the mortgage loans we own and that underlie our MBS. The ultimate returns generated by these investments may depend on the quality of the servicer. If a servicer is not vigilant in seeing that borrowers make their required monthly payments, borrowers may be less likely to make these payments, resulting in higher default rates. If a servicer takes longer than expected to liquidate non-performing loans, our losses related to those loans may be higher than originally anticipated. Any failure by servicers to service these mortgages or to competently manage and dispose of the related real properties could negatively impact the value of these investments and our financial performance. In addition, while we have contracted with third party servicers to carry out the actual servicing of the loans we own, other than our securitized loans (including all direct interface with the borrowers) we are nevertheless ultimately responsible, vis-à-vis the borrowers and state and federal regulators, for ensuring that the loans are serviced in accordance with the terms of the related notes and mortgages and applicable law and regulation (See “Risks Related to Regulatory Matters and Our 1940 Act Exemption” for further discussion). Considering the current regulatory environment, such exposure could be significant even though we might have contractual claims against our servicers for any failure to service the loans to the required standard.

For a majority of the loans that we hold and securitize, we hold the right to service those loans and we retain a sub-servicer to service those loans. In these circumstances, we are exposed to certain risks, including, without limitation, that we may not be able to enter sub-servicing agreements on favorable terms to us or at all, or that the sub-servicer may not properly service the loan in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or the contractual provisions governing their sub-servicing role, and that we would be held liable for the sub-servicer’s improper acts or omissions. Additionally, in its capacity as a servicer of residential mortgage loans, a sub-servicer will have access to borrowers’ non-public personal information, and we could incur liability for a data breach relating to a sub-servicer or misuse or mismanagement of data by a sub-servicer. We also rely on technology infrastructure and systems of third parties who provide services to us and with whom we transact business. To the extent any one sub-servicer counterparty services a significant percentage of the loans with respect to which we own the servicing rights, the risks associated with our use of that sub-servicer are concentrated around this single sub-servicer counterparty. To the extent that there are significant amounts of advances that need to be funded in respect of loans where we own the servicing right, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

We also rely on corporate trustees to act on behalf of us in enforcing our rights as security holders. Under the terms of most RMBS we hold, we do not have the right to directly enforce remedies against the issuer of the security but instead must rely on a trustee to act on behalf of us and other security holders. Should a trustee not be required to act under the terms of the securities, or fail to act, we could experience losses.

The expanding body of federal, state and local regulations and the investigations of servicers may increase their cost of compliance and the risks of noncompliance and may adversely affect their ability to perform their servicing obligations.

We rely on third party servicers to service the residential mortgage loans that we acquire through consolidated trusts and that underlie the MBS that we acquire. The mortgage servicing business is subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities and is subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing requirements and restrictions and increased compliance costs on a substantial portion of their operations. The volume of new or modified laws and regulations has increased in recent years. Some jurisdictions and municipalities have enacted laws that restrict loan servicing activities, including delaying or preventing foreclosures or forcing the modification of certain mortgages.

Federal laws and regulations have also been proposed or adopted which, among other things, could hinder the ability of a servicer to foreclose promptly on defaulted residential loans, and which could result in assignees being held responsible for violations in the residential loan origination process. Certain mortgage lenders and third party servicers have voluntarily, or as part of settlements with law enforcement authorities, established loan modification programs relating to loans they hold or service. These federal, state and local legislative or regulatory actions that result in modifications of our outstanding mortgages, or interests in mortgages acquired by us either directly through consolidated trusts or through our investments in residential MBS, may adversely affect the value of, and returns on, such investments. Mortgage servicers may be incented by the federal government to pursue such loan modifications, as well as forbearance plans and other actions intended to prevent foreclosure, even if such loan modifications and other actions are not in the best interests of the beneficial owners of the mortgages. The foregoing matters may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends to be adversely affected.

We utilize third party analytical models and data to value our investments, and any incorrect, misleading or incomplete information used in connection therewith would subject us to potential risks.

Given the complexity of our investments and strategies, we rely heavily on analytical models and information and data supplied by third parties, or Third Party Data. Third Party Data is used to value investments or potential investments and to hedge our investments. When we rely on Third Party Data that proves to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, our decisions expose us to potential risks. For example, by relying on Third Party Data, especially valuation models, we may be induced to buy certain investments at prices that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low, or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on faulty Third Party Data may prove to be unsuccessful. Furthermore, any valuations of our investments that are based on valuation models may prove to be incorrect.

These risks include the following: (i) collateral cash flows and/or liability structures may be incorrectly modeled in all or only certain scenarios, or may be modeled based on simplifying assumptions that lead to errors; (ii) information about collateral may be incorrect, incomplete, or misleading; (iii) collateral or bond historical performance (such as historical prepayments, defaults, cash flows, etc.) may be incorrectly reported, or subject to interpretation (e.g., different issuers may report delinquency statistics based on different definitions of what constitutes a delinquent loan); or (iv) collateral or bond information may be outdated, in which case the models may contain incorrect assumptions as to what has occurred since the date information was last updated.

Some of the Third Party Data we use, such as mortgage prepayment models or mortgage default models, are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. In addition, the predictive models we use may differ substantially from those models used by other market participants, with the result that valuations based on these predictive models may be substantially higher or lower for certain investments than actual market prices. Furthermore, since predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may

depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data and the ability of these historical models to accurately reflect future periods.

All valuation models rely on correct market data inputs. Certain assumptions used as inputs to the models may be based on historical trends and these trends may not be indicative of future results. If incorrect market data is used, even a well-designed valuation model may result in incorrect valuations. Even if market data is appropriately captured in the model, the resulting “model prices” will often differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics, such as derivative securities.

For example, the economic, financial and related impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are and will be very difficult to model (including as related to the housing and mortgage markets), as the catalyst for these conditions (i.e., a global pandemic) is an event that is unparalleled in modern history and therefore is subject to wide variables, assumptions and inputs. Therefore, historical data used in Third Party Data may be less reliable in predicting future conditions. Further, the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic have increased volatility across asset classes. Extreme volatility in any asset class, including real estate and mortgage-related assets, increases the likelihood of Third Party Data being inaccurate as market participants attempt to value assets that have frequent, significant swings in pricing.

We are dependent on information systems and their failure could significantly disrupt our business.

Our business is highly dependent on our information and communications systems. Any failure or interruption of our systems or cyber-attacks or security breaches of our networks or systems could cause delays or other problems in our investment activities as well as subject us to penalties, fines and other regulatory actions, which could have a material adverse effect on operating results, the market price of our common stock and other securities and our ability to pay dividends. We have a suite of controls including technology hardware and software solutions as well as regular training sessions on cybersecurity risks and mitigation strategies. We have established an incident response team to take steps it determines are appropriate to contain, mitigate and remediate a cybersecurity incident and to respond to the associated business, legal and reputational risks. However, due to the transition to remote working environments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an elevated risk of such events occurring.

Additionally, there is no assurance that these efforts will fully mitigate cybersecurity risk and mitigation efforts are not an assurance that no cybersecurity incidents will occur.

We also face the risk of operational failure, termination, or capacity constraints of any of the third parties with which we do business or that facilitate our business activities, including clearing agents, mortgage servicers, trustees, business counterparties, technology service providers including hardware, software and cloud based solutions or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our business.

Risks Related to Regulatory Matters, Accounting, and Our 1940 Act Exemption

Our business is subject to extensive regulation.

Our business is subject to extensive regulation by federal and state governmental authorities, self-regulatory organizations, and securities exchanges. We are required to comply with numerous federal and state laws. The laws, rules and regulations comprising this regulatory framework change frequently, as can the interpretation and enforcement of existing laws, rules, and regulations. Some of the laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject are intended primarily to safeguard and protect consumers, rather than stockholders or creditors. From time to time, we may receive requests from federal and state agencies for records, documents, and information regarding our policies, procedures, and practices regarding our business activities. We incur significant ongoing costs to comply with these government regulations.

Although we do not originate or directly service residential mortgage loans, we must comply with various federal and state laws, rules, and regulations because we purchase residential mortgage loans. These rules generally focus on consumer protection and include, among others, rules promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial

Modernization Act of 1999. These requirements can and do change as statutes and regulations are enacted, promulgated, amended, and interpreted, and the recent trends among federal and state lawmakers and regulators have been toward increasing laws, regulations, and investigative proceedings concerning the mortgage industry generally. For example, on December 10, 2020, the CFPB issued a final rule that adopts a set of “bright-line” loan pricing thresholds to replace the previous General Qualified Mortgage 43% debt-to-income threshold calculated in accordance with “Appendix Q” and removes Appendix Q (the “General QM Final Rule”). The effective date of the General QM Final Rule is March 1, 2021, but the mandatory compliance date is July 1, 2021. On December 10, 2020, the CFPB also issued a final rule that creates a new category of a qualified mortgage, referred to as a “Seasoned QM” (the “Seasoned QM Final Rule”). A loan is eligible to become a Seasoned QM if it is a first-lien, fixed rate loan that meets certain performance requirements over a seasoning period of 36 months, is held in portfolio until the end of the seasoning period by the originating creditor or first purchaser, complies with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meets certain underwriting requirements. The effective date for the Seasoned QM Final Rule is March 1, 2021. At this time, however, there can be no assurance what impact these final rules will have on the mortgage market and the “ability-to-repay” rules. Furthermore, the temporary qualified mortgage provision applicable to certain mortgage loans eligible for purchase or guarantee by the GSEs, commonly referred to as the “GSE Patch,” will expire on the earlier of: (i) July 1, 2021 or (ii) the date that the GSEs exit conservatorship. We cannot predict the impact of its expiration on the mortgage market.

Although we believe that we have structured our operations and investments to comply with existing legal and regulatory requirements and interpretations, changes in regulatory and legal requirements, including changes in their interpretation and enforcement by lawmakers and regulators, could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.

We are required to obtain various state licenses to purchase mortgage loans in the secondary market and there is no assurance we will be able to obtain or maintain those licenses.

While we are not required to obtain licenses to purchase mortgage-backed securities, the purchase of residential mortgage loans in the secondary market may, in some circumstances, require us to maintain various state licenses. Acquiring the right to service residential mortgage loans may also, in some circumstances, require us to maintain various state licenses even though we currently do not expect to directly engage in loan servicing ourselves. Thus, we could be delayed in conducting certain business if we were first required to obtain a state license. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain all the licenses we need or that we would not experience significant delays in obtaining these licenses. Furthermore, once licenses are issued, we are required to comply with various information reporting and other regulatory requirements to maintain those licenses, and there is no assurance that we will be able to satisfy those requirements or other regulatory requirements applicable to our business of acquiring residential mortgage loans on an ongoing basis. Our failure to obtain or maintain required licenses or our failure to comply with regulatory requirements that are applicable to our business of acquiring residential mortgage loans may restrict our business and investment options and could harm our business and expose us to penalties or other claims.

Our GAAP financial results may not be an accurate indicator of taxable income and dividend distributions.

Generally, the cumulative net income we report over the life of an asset will be the same for GAAP and tax purposes, although the timing of this income recognition over the life of the asset could be materially different. Differences exist in the accounting for GAAP net income and REIT taxable income, which can lead to significant variances in the amount and timing of when income and losses are recognized under these two measures. Due to these differences, our reported GAAP financial results could materially differ from our determination of taxable income, which impacts our dividend distribution requirements, and, therefore, our GAAP results may not be an accurate indicator of future taxable income and dividend distributions.

Changes in accounting rules could occur at any time and could impact us in significantly negative ways that we are unable to predict or protect against.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, and other regulatory bodies that establish the accounting rules applicable to us have recently proposed or enacted a wide array of changes to accounting rules. Moreover, in the future, these regulators may propose additional changes that we do not currently anticipate. Changes to accounting rules that apply to us

could significantly impact our business or our reported financial performance in ways that we cannot predict or protect against. We cannot predict whether any changes to current accounting rules will occur or what impact any codified changes will have on our business, results of operations, liquidity or financial condition, directly or through their impact on our business partners or counterparties.

Loss of our 1940 Act exemption would adversely affect us and negatively affect the market price of shares of our capital stock and our ability to distribute dividends.

We conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. Government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis, which we refer to as the 40% test. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exclusion from the definition of investment company set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.

Because we are a holding company that conducts its businesses primarily through wholly-owned subsidiaries and majority-owned subsidiaries, the securities issued by these subsidiaries that are excepted from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act, together with any other investment securities we may own, may not have a combined value in excess of 40% of the value of our adjusted total assets on an unconsolidated basis. This requirement limits the types of businesses in which we may engage through our subsidiaries. In addition, the assets we and our subsidiaries may acquire are limited by the provisions of the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated under the 1940 Act and SEC staff interpretative guidance, which may adversely affect our performance.

If the value of securities issued by our subsidiaries that are excepted from the definition of “investment company” by Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act, together with any other investment securities we own, exceeds 40% of our adjusted total assets on an unconsolidated basis, or if one or more of such subsidiaries fail to maintain an exception or exemption from the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either (a) to substantially change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company or (b) to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act, either of which could have an adverse effect on us and the market price of our securities. If we were required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act, we would become subject to substantial regulation with respect to our capital structure (including our ability to use leverage), management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons (as defined in the 1940 Act), portfolio composition, including restrictions with respect to diversification and industry concentration, and other matters.

Certain of our subsidiaries rely on the exemption from registration provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act. Section 3(c)(5)(C) as interpreted by the staff of the SEC, requires us to invest at least 55% of our assets in “mortgages and other liens on and interest in real estate”, or Qualifying Real Estate Assets, and at least 80% of our assets in Qualifying Real Estate Assets plus real estate-related assets. The assets that we acquire, therefore, are limited by the provisions of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations promulgated under the 1940 Act. If the SEC determines that any of a subsidiary’s securities are not Qualifying Real Estate Assets or real estate-related assets or otherwise believes such subsidiary does not satisfy the exemption under Section 3(c)(5)(C), we could be required to restructure our activities or sell certain of our assets. The net effect of these factors will be to lower our net interest income. If we fail to qualify for exemption from registration as an investment company, our ability to use leverage would be substantially reduced, and we would not be able to conduct our business as described.

Certain of our subsidiaries may rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(6) which excludes from the definition of “investment company” any company primarily engaged, directly or through majority-owned subsidiaries, in a business, among others, described in Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act (from which not less than 25% of such company’s gross income during its last fiscal year was derived) together with an additional business or additional businesses other than investing, reinvesting,

owning, holding or trading in securities. The SEC staff has issued little interpretive guidance with respect to Section 3(c)(6) and any guidance published by the staff could require us to adjust our strategy accordingly.

Certain of our subsidiaries may rely on Section 3(c)(7) for their 1940 Act exemption and, therefore, our interest in each of these subsidiaries would constitute an “investment security” for purposes of determining whether we pass the 40% test.

Certain of our subsidiaries may rely on Rule 3a-7 which exempts certain securitization vehicles. There are numerous requirements that must be met to exclude such subsidiaries from the definition of an investment company. Our ability to manage assets held in a special purpose subsidiary that complies with Rule 3a-7 will be limited and we may not be able to purchase or sell assets owned by that subsidiary when we would otherwise desire to do so, which could lead to losses.

The determination of whether an entity is a majority-owned subsidiary of our company is made by us. The 1940 Act defines a majority-owned subsidiary of a person as a company of which 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities are owned by such person, or by another company which is a majority-owned subsidiary of such person. The 1940 Act further defines voting securities as any security presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote for the election of directors of a company. We treat companies in which we own at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities as majority-owned subsidiaries for purposes of the 40% test. We have not requested the SEC to approve our treatment of any company as a majority-owned subsidiary and the SEC has not done so. If the SEC were to disagree with our treatment of one or more companies as majority-owned subsidiaries, we may need to adjust our strategy and our assets to continue to pass the 40% test. Any such adjustment in our strategy could have a material adverse effect on us.

There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing the 1940 Act status of REITs, including guidance from the Division of Investment Management of the SEC regarding these exemptions, will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations. If we or our subsidiaries fail to maintain an exception or exemption from the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either to (a) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (b) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so, or (c) register as an investment company, any of which could negatively affect the value of our capital stock, the sustainability of our business model, and our ability to make distributions which could have an adverse effect on our business and the market price for our shares of capital stock.

We Have an Ownership Interest in a Registered Investment Adviser

We own 24.9% of a registered investment adviser and we are the sole investor in a fund managed by that adviser. While we believe we have structured our investment so that we are not deemed a “control person” with respect to that adviser such as our equity interest is non-voting; we do not have consent rights to the budget or other significant control rights; none of our employees is an officer of the adviser, or have any consent rights or other control of the adviser’s personnel; and we do not have a board seat or similar role in the oversight of the adviser, we cannot assure you that the SEC or a court will not determine that we are a “control person”. Control Persons may be held liable for violations committed by persons under their control. Sanctions the SEC may impose on control persons include industry bars and suspensions, financial penalties, disgorgement of financial proceeds obtained through the violation, and cease and desist orders. Civil litigants may recover financial compensation from control persons for damages suffered because of misconduct by controlled persons. Control persons are not automatically liable for violations committed by the persons under their control. It is a defense to regulatory and private civil liability if the control person acted in good faith and did not induce the act or acts constituting the violation or cause of action. This defense can be established by showing that the control person exercised due care in his supervision of the violator’s activities by maintaining and enforcing a reasonable and proper system of supervision and internal control.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Risks

Your investment has various U.S. federal income tax risks.

This summary of certain tax risks is limited to the U.S. federal tax risks addressed below. Additional risks or issues may exist that are not addressed in this Form 10-K and that could affect the U.S. federal tax treatment of us or our stockholders. This is

not intended to be used and cannot be used by any stockholder to avoid penalties that may be imposed on stockholders under the Code. We strongly urge you to seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor concerning the effects of U.S. federal, state and local income tax law on an investment in common stock or preferred stock and on your individual tax situation.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

To maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy various tests regarding the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. To meet these tests, we may be required to forego investments we might otherwise make. We may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our investment performance.

Complying with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we generally must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter at least 75% of the value of our total assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualifying real estate assets, including certain mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. The remainder of our investments in securities (other than government securities and qualifying real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities, qualifying real estate assets, and stock in one or more TRSs) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 20% of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of such calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT status and suffering adverse tax consequences. Thus, we may be required to liquidate from our portfolio otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.

The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to hedge our assets and related borrowings. Under these provisions, our annual gross income from non-qualifying hedges, together with any other income not generated from qualifying real estate assets, cannot exceed 25% of our annual gross income. In addition, our aggregate gross income from non-qualifying hedges, fees, and certain other non-qualifying sources cannot exceed 5% of our annual gross income. As a result, we might have to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement certain hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear.

Failure to qualify as a REIT would subject us to U.S. federal income tax, which would reduce the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We have elected to be treated as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes and intend to operate so that we will qualify as a REIT. However, the U.S. federal income tax laws governing REITs are extremely complex, and interpretations of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing qualification as a REIT are limited. Qualifying as a REIT requires us to meet various tests regarding the nature of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding stock, and the amount of our distributions on an ongoing basis. While we intend to operate so as to maintain our qualification as a REIT, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, including the tax treatment of certain investments we may make, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that we will so qualify for any particular year.

We also indirectly own an entity that has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws, or a "Subsidiary REIT." Our Subsidiary REIT is subject to the same REIT qualification requirements that are applicable to us. If our Subsidiary

REIT were to fail to qualify as a REIT, then (i) that Subsidiary REIT would become subject to regular U.S. federal, state and local corporate income tax, (ii) our interest in such Subsidiary REIT would cease to be a qualifying asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, and (iii) it is possible that we would fail certain of the REIT asset tests, in which event we also would fail to qualify as a REIT unless we could avail ourselves of certain relief provisions. While we believe that the Subsidiary REIT has qualified as a REIT under the Code, we have joined the Subsidiary REIT in filing a "protective" TRS election under Section 856(l) of the Code for each taxable year in which we have owned an interest in the Subsidiary REIT. We cannot assure you that such "protective" TRS election would be effective to avoid adverse consequences to us. Moreover, even if the "protective" election were to be effective, the Subsidiary REIT would be subject to regular corporate income tax, and we cannot assure you that we would not fail to satisfy the requirement that not more than 20% of the value of our total assets may be represented by the securities of one or more TRSs. See "Our ownership of and relationship with our TRSs will be limited, and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT status and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax," below.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any calendar year and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate income tax rates. We might need to borrow money or sell assets to pay any such tax. Our payment of income tax would decrease the amount of our income available for distribution to our stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we no longer would be required to distribute substantially all our REIT taxable income to our stockholders. Unless our failure to qualify as a REIT was excused under U.S. federal tax laws, we would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost.

The ability of our Board of Directors to revoke our REIT election without stockholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

Our charter provides that our Board of Directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if our Board of Directors determines that it is no longer in our best interest to attempt to, or continue to, qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income and we generally would no longer be required to distribute any of our net taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on the total return to our stockholders.

Potential characterization of distributions or gain on sale may be treated as unrelated business taxable income to tax-exempt investors.

If (1) all or a portion of our assets are subject to the rules relating to taxable mortgage pools, (2) we are a ‘‘pension-held REIT,’’ or (3) a tax-exempt stockholder has incurred debt to purchase or hold our capital stock, then a portion of the distributions to and, in the case of a stockholder described in clause (3), gains realized on the sale of capital stock by such tax-exempt stockholder may be subject to U.S. federal income tax as unrelated business taxable income under the Code.

Classification of our securitizations or financing arrangements as a taxable mortgage pool could subject us or certain of our stockholders to increased taxation.

We intend to structure our securitization and financing arrangements so as to not allocate “excess inclusion income” to our stockholders. However, if we have borrowings with two or more maturities and, (1) those borrowings are secured by mortgages or mortgage-backed securities and (2) the payments made on the borrowings are related to the payments received on the underlying assets, then the borrowings and the pool of mortgages or mortgage-backed securities to which such borrowings relate may be classified as a taxable mortgage pool under the Code. If any part of our investments were to be treated as a taxable mortgage pool, then our REIT status would not be impaired, but a portion of the taxable income we recognize may, under regulations to be issued by the Treasury Department, be characterized as excess inclusion income and allocated among our stockholders to the extent of and generally in proportion to the distributions we make to each stockholder. Any excess inclusion income would:

•not be allowed to be offset by a stockholder’s net operating losses;

•be subject to a tax as unrelated business income if a stockholder were a tax-exempt stockholder;

•be subject to the application of U.S. federal withholding tax at the maximum rate (without reduction for any otherwise applicable income tax treaty) with respect to amounts allocable to foreign stockholders; and

•be taxable (at the highest corporate tax rate) to us, rather than to our stockholders, to the extent the excess inclusion income relates to stock held by disqualified organizations (generally, tax-exempt organizations not subject to tax on unrelated business income, including governmental organizations).

Failure to make required distributions would subject us to tax, which would reduce the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must distribute to our stockholders each calendar year at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (excluding certain items of non-cash income in excess of a specified threshold), determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed income. In addition, we will incur a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which our distributions in any calendar year are less than the sum of:

•85% of our REIT ordinary income for that year;

•95% of our REIT capital gain net income for that year; and

•any undistributed taxable income from prior years.

We intend to distribute our REIT taxable income to our stockholders in a manner intended to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid both corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax. REIT taxable income only includes after-tax TRS net income to the extent such TRS distributes a dividend to the REIT. Therefore, our REIT dividend distributions may or may not include after-tax net income from our TRSs.

Our taxable income may substantially exceed our net income as determined by GAAP. As an example, realized capital losses may be included in our GAAP net income, but may not be deductible in computing our taxable income. In addition, we may invest in assets that generate taxable income in excess of economic income or in advance of the corresponding cash flow from the assets. Also, our ability, or the ability of our subsidiaries, to deduct interest may be limited under Section 163(j) of the Code. To the extent that we generate such non-cash taxable income or have limitations on our deductions in a taxable year, we may incur corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax on that income if we do not distribute such income to stockholders in that year. In that event, we may be required to use cash reserves, incur debt, or liquidate non-cash assets at rates or at times that we regard as unfavorable to satisfy the distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax in that year. Moreover, our ability to distribute cash may be limited by available financing facilities. Therefore, our dividend payment level may fluctuate significantly, and, under some circumstances, we may not pay dividends at all.

Our ownership of and relationship with our TRSs will be limited, and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT status and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax.

A REIT may own up to 100% of the equity of one or more TRSs. A TRS may earn income that would not be qualifying income if earned directly by the parent REIT. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. Overall, no more than 20% of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. A TRS will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates on any taxable income that it earns. In addition, the TRS rules impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Our TRS after-tax net income would be available for distribution to us but would not be required to be distributed to us. We anticipate that the aggregate value of the TRS stock and securities owned by us will be less than 20% of the value of our total assets (including the TRS stock and securities). Furthermore, we will monitor the value of our investments in our TRSs to ensure compliance with the rule that no more than 20% of the value of our assets may consist of TRS stock and securities (which is applied at the end of each calendar quarter). In addition, we will scrutinize all our transactions with TRSs to ensure that they are entered on arm’s-length terms to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance,

however, that we will be able to comply with the 20% limitation discussed above or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax discussed above.

The tax on prohibited transactions will limit our ability to engage in transactions, including certain methods of securitizing mortgage loans, that would be treated as sales for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, but including mortgage loans, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to this tax if we sold or securitized our assets in a manner that was treated as a sale for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of assets at the REIT level and may securitize assets in transactions that are treated as financing transactions and not as sales for tax purposes even though such transactions may not be the optimal execution on a pre-tax basis. We could avoid any prohibited transactions tax concerns by engaging in securitization transactions through a TRS, subject to certain limitations described above. To the extent that we engage in such activities through domestic TRSs, the income associated with such activities will be subject to U.S. federal (and applicable state and local) corporate income tax. There can be no assurance, however, that we will avoid the application of the 100% tax on net income from prohibited transactions described above.

The interest apportionment rules may affect our ability to comply with the REIT asset and gross income tests.

The mortgage loans we acquire may be subject to the interest apportionment rules under Treasury Regulations Section 1.856-5(c), or the Interest Apportionment Regulation, which generally provides that if a mortgage is secured by both real property and other property, a REIT is required to apportion its annual interest income for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test. If a mortgage is secured by both real property and personal property and the value of the personal property does not exceed 15% of the aggregate value of the property securing the mortgage, the mortgage is treated as secured solely by real property for this purpose.

For purposes of the asset tests applicable to REITs, Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor under which the IRS will generally not challenge a REIT’s treatment of a loan as being in part a real estate asset in an amount equal to the lesser of the fair market value of the loan or the fair market value of the real property securing the loan at certain relevant testing dates. We believe that all of the mortgage loans that we acquire are secured only by real property. Therefore, we believe that the Interest Apportionment Regulation does not apply to our portfolio.

Nevertheless, if the IRS were to assert successfully that our mortgage loans were secured by property other than real estate, that the Interest Apportionment Regulation applied for purposes of our REIT testing, and that the position taken in Revenue Procedure 2014-51 should be applied to our portfolio, then we might not be able to meet the REIT 75% gross income test, and possibly the asset tests applicable to REITs. If we did not meet these tests, we could lose our REIT status or be required to pay a tax penalty to the IRS.

Even if we remain qualified as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow.

Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted because of a foreclosure, excise taxes, state or local income, property and transfer taxes, such as mortgage recording taxes, and other taxes. In addition, to meet the REIT qualification requirements, prevent the recognition of certain types of non-cash income, or to avert the imposition of a 100% tax that applies to certain gains derived by a REIT from dealer property or inventory, we may hold some of our assets through our TRSs or other subsidiary corporations that will be subject to corporate-level income tax at regular corporate rates. In certain circumstances, the ability of our TRSs to deduct net interest expense may be limited. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could reduce the market price of our capital stock.

At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective and any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our stockholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Certain provisions of Maryland Law, of our charter, and of our bylaws contain provisions that may inhibit potential acquisition bids that stockholders may consider favorable, and the market price of our capital stock may be lower as a result.

•There are ownership limits and restrictions on transferability and ownership in our charter. To qualify as a REIT, not more than 50% of the value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or constructively, by five or fewer individuals during the second half of any calendar year. To assist us in satisfying this test, among other things, our charter generally prohibits any person or entity from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of any class or series of our outstanding capital stock. This restriction may discourage a tender offer or other transactions or a change in the composition of our Board of Directors or control that might involve a premium price for our shares or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders and any shares issued or transferred in violation of such restrictions being automatically transferred to a trust for a charitable beneficiary, thereby resulting in a forfeiture of the additional shares.

•Our charter permits our Board of Directors to issue stock with terms that may discourage a third party from acquiring us. Our charter permits our Board of Directors to amend the charter without stockholder approval to increase the total number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of any class or series and to issue common or preferred stock, having preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications, or terms or conditions of redemption as determined by our Board of Directors. Thus, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of stock with terms and conditions that could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction in which holders of some or a majority of our shares might receive a premium for their shares over the then-prevailing market price of our shares.

•Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act. Maryland law provides that holders of ‘‘control shares’’ of our company (defined as voting shares of stock which, when aggregated with all other shares controlled by the acquiring stockholder, entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of “control shares”) have no voting rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares. Our bylaws provide that we are not subject to the “control share” provisions of Maryland law. Our Board of Directors, however, may elect to make the “control share” statute applicable to us at any time and may do so without stockholder approval.

•Business Combinations. We are subject to the “business combination” provisions of Maryland law that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations (including a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between us and an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of our then outstanding voting capital stock or an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two‑year period before the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of our then outstanding voting capital stock) or an affiliate thereof for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. After the five‑year prohibition, any business combination between us and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by our Board of Directors and approved by the affirmative vote of at least (i) 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of our voting capital stock and (ii) two‑thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting capital stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or

with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder. These super‑majority voting requirements do not apply if our common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. These provisions of Maryland law also do not apply to business combinations that are approved or exempted by a Board of Directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the statute, our Board of Directors has by resolution exempted business combinations between us and any other person, provided, that such business combination is first approved by our Board of Directors (including a majority of our directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person).

•Unsolicited Takeovers: The “unsolicited takeover” provisions of Maryland law, permit our Board of Directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to elect to be subject to any or all of five provisions, including a classified board, a two-thirds vote requirement for removing a director, a requirement that the number of directors be fixed only by vote of the directors, a requirement that a vacancy on the board be filled only by the remaining directors and for the remainder of the full term of the class of directors in which the vacancy occurred, and majority requirement for the calling of a special meeting of stockholders. Through provisions in our charter and Bylaws unrelated to this statute, we already (a) require, unless called by the chairman of our Board of Directors, our chief executive officer, our president or our Board of Directors, the request of stockholders entitled to cast not less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at the meeting to call a special meeting of stockholders, (b) require that the number of directors be fixed only by the Board of Directors, (c) have a classified board and (d) have a two-thirds vote requirement for the removal of a director. We have elected in our charter to be subject to the provision whereby any vacancy on the board is filled only by a vote of the remaining directors (whether or not they constitute a quorum) for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred and until a successor is duly elected and qualifies. These provisions may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us or of delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control of us under the circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price.

•Classified Board. Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes of directors. Directors of each class are chosen for terms expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders held in the third year following the year of their election, and each year one class of directors is elected by the stockholders. The staggered terms of our directors may reduce the possibility of a tender offer or an attempt at a change in control, even though a tender offer or change in control might be in the best interests of our stockholders.

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited, which could limit stockholders’ recourse in the event of actions, not in their best interests.

Our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

•actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services; or

•a final judgment based upon a finding of active and deliberate dishonesty by the director or officer that was material to the cause of action adjudicated for which Maryland law prohibits such exemption from liability.

In addition, our charter authorizes us to obligate our company to indemnify our present and former directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Our bylaws require us to indemnify each present or former director or officer, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made or threatened to be made, a party because of his or her service to us.

Risks Related to Our Capital Stock

The market price and trading volume of our shares of capital stock may be volatile.

The market price of shares of our capital stock, including our common and preferred stock, may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. During 2020, we experienced extremely volatile movements in the market price of our shares of stock. Also, the trading volume in our shares of capital stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. We cannot assure you that the market price of our shares of capital stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our shares of common and preferred stock include those set forth under “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and in the information incorporated and deemed to be incorporated by reference herein.

Capital stock eligible for future sale may have adverse consequences for investors and adverse effects on our share price.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of capital stock, or the availability of shares for future sales, on the market price of the capital stock. Sales of substantial amounts of capital stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for the common stock. In addition, with certain limited exceptions related to some financing facilities, we are not required to offer any such shares to existing shareholders on a pre-emptive basis. Therefore, it may not be possible for existing shareholders to participate in such future share issues, which may dilute the existing shareholders’ interests in us.

Future offerings of debt securities, which would rank senior to our capital stock upon liquidation, and future offerings of equity securities (including upon the exercise of warrants we have issued to certain lenders), which would dilute our existing stockholders and may be senior to our capital stock for the purposes of dividend and liquidating distributions, may adversely affect the market price of our capital stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making offerings of debt or additional offerings of equity securities, including commercial paper, warrants, senior or subordinated notes and series or classes of preferred stock or common stock. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock, if any, and lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive a distribution of our available assets before the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings (including upon the exercise of warrants or similar instruments issued to lenders or other parties) may dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders or reduce the market price of our capital stock, or both. Preferred stock, including our Series A, Series B, Series C, and Series D Preferred Stock, will have a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on dividend payments or both that could limit our ability to make a dividend distribution to the holders of our capital stock, including our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our capital stock bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our capital stock and diluting their stock holdings in us.

There is a risk that you may not receive dividend distributions, or those dividend distributions may decrease over time. Changes in the amount of dividend distributions we pay or in the tax characterization of dividend distributions we pay may adversely affect the market price of our common stock or may result in holders of our common stock being taxed on dividend distributions at a higher rate than initially expected.

Our dividend distributions are driven by a variety of factors, including our minimum dividend distribution requirements under the REIT tax laws and our REIT taxable income as calculated for tax purposes pursuant to the tax code. We generally intend to distribute to our common shareholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, although our reported financial results for GAAP purposes may differ materially from our REIT taxable income.

Our ability to pay a dividend per common share per quarter and the dividend on each series of our preferred stock at the stated dividend rate may be adversely affected by many factors, including the risk factors described herein. These same factors may affect our ability to pay other future dividends. In addition, to the extent we determine that future dividends would represent a return of capital to investors, rather than the distribution of income, we may determine to discontinue dividend payments until such time that dividends would again represent a distribution of income. Any reduction or elimination of our payment of

dividend distributions would not only reduce the number of dividends you would receive as a holder of our common stock but could also have the effect of reducing the market price of our common stock.

The declaration, amount and payment of future cash dividends on our common stock are subject to uncertainty due to disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as market conditions related to COVID-19.

The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of common stock will be at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors. Consistent with our intention to enhance our liquidity and strengthen our cash position to take advantage of future opportunities, our Board of Directors may adjust our quarterly cash dividend on our shares of common stock from prior quarters. The payment of dividends may be more uncertain during severe market disruption in the mortgage, housing or related sectors, such as those experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We may not be able to pay dividends or other distributions on our Capital Stock.

Under Maryland law, no distributions on stock may be made if, after giving effect to the distribution, (i) the corporation would not be able to pay the indebtedness of the corporation as such indebtedness becomes due in the usual course of business or (ii) except in certain limited circumstances when distributions are made from net earnings, the corporation’s total assets would be less than the sum of the corporation’s total liabilities plus, unless the charter provides otherwise (which our charter does, with respect to any outstanding series of preferred stock), the amount that would be needed, if the corporation were to be dissolved at the time of the distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights upon dissolution of stockholders whose preferential rights on dissolution are superior to those receiving the distribution. There can be no guarantee that we will have sufficient cash to pay dividends on any series of our capital stock. Our ability to pay dividends may be impaired if any of the risks described in this Item 1A Risk Factors were to occur. In addition, payment of our dividends depends upon our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our REIT qualification and other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to make distributions on our common stock or any series of our preferred stock.

Dividends payable by REITs generally do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.

The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income payable to certain non-corporate U.S. holders is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced qualified dividend rates. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026, non-corporate taxpayers may deduct up to 20% of certain pass-through business income, including “qualified REIT dividends” (generally, dividends received by a REIT shareholder that are not designated as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income), subject to certain limitations, resulting in an effective maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 29.6% on such income. Although the reduced U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends payable by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends and the reduced corporate tax rate (currently 21%) could cause certain non-corporate investors to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our stock.

Holders of our Preferred Stock have limited voting rights.

The voting rights of holders of any series of our outstanding preferred stock are limited. Our common stock is the only class of our securities that currently carries full voting rights. Holders of any series of our preferred stock may vote only (i) to elect, voting together as a single class, with holders of parity stock having similar voting rights two additional directors to our Board of Directors if six full quarterly dividends (whether or not consecutive) payable on any series of our preferred stock are in arrears, (ii) on amendments to our charter, including the articles supplementary designating any series of our outstanding preferred stock, that materially and adversely affect the rights of the holders of such series or (iii) to authorize or create, or increase the authorized or issued amount of, additional classes or series of Senior Stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

As of December 31, 2020, we do not own any property. Our executive and administrative office is located in leased space at 520 Madison Avenue, 32nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, telephone (212) 626-2300. Our office lease expires on August 2021. We believe that this space is suitable and adequate for our current needs. In addition, we have leases through November 2021, for our off-site back-up facilities and data centers located in Wappingers Falls, New York and Norwalk, Connecticut.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Part II

Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock began trading publicly on the NYSE under the trading symbol “CIM” on November 16, 2007. As of January 31, 2021, we had 230,559,010 shares of common stock issued and outstanding which were held by 219 holders of record.

Dividends

We pay quarterly dividends and distribute to our stockholders all or substantially all of our taxable income in each year (subject to certain adjustments). This enables us to qualify for the tax benefits accorded to a REIT under the Code. We have not established a set minimum dividend payment level and our ability to pay dividends may be adversely affected for the reasons described under the caption “Risk Factors.” All distributions will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our taxable income, our financial condition, maintenance of our REIT status and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time.

The Board of Directors declared dividends of $1.40 and $2.00 per share during 2020 and 2019.

Purchases of Equity Securities

In March 2020, our Board of Directors reauthorized $150 million under our share repurchase program, or the Repurchase Program. Such authorization does not have an expiration date and, at present, there is no intention to modify or otherwise rescind such authorization. Shares of our common stock may be purchased in the open market, including through block purchases, through privately negotiated transactions, or pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined at our discretion and the program may be suspended, terminated or modified at any time for any reason. Among other factors, the Company intends to only consider repurchasing shares of our common stock when the purchase price is less than the last publicly reported book value per common share. In addition, the Company does not intend to repurchase any shares from directors, officers or other affiliates. The program does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares, and all repurchases will be made in accordance with Rule 10b-18, which sets certain restrictions on the method, timing, price and volume of stock repurchases.

Pursuant to our Repurchase Program, the Company repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $15.34 per share for a total of $22 million during the first quarter of 2020. The approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the Repurchase Program is $128 million as of December 31, 2020. The Company did not repurchase any of its common stock during the year ended December 31, 2019.


	Total Number of Common Shares Repurchased	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased As Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Approximate Dollar Value of the Purchase		Approximate Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs



3/1/2020 - 3/31/2020	1,437,996	$	15.34	1,437,996	$	22,065,953	$	127,934,047
	1,437,996	$	15.34	1,437,996	$	22,065,953	$	127,934,047

Share Performance Graph

The following graph and table set forth certain information comparing the yearly percentage change in cumulative total return on our common stock to the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s Composite-500 Stock Index or S&P 500 Index, and the Bloomberg REIT Mortgage Index, or BBG REIT Index, an industry index of mortgage REITs. The comparison is for the period from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2020 and assumes the reinvestment of dividends. The graph and table assume that $100 was invested in our common stock and each of the two other indices on December 31, 2015.


	12/31/2015	12/31/2016	12/31/2017	12/31/2018	12/31/2019	12/31/2020
Chimera	100	146	176	190	242	139
S&P 500 Index	100	112	136	130	171	203
BBG REIT Index	100	122	147	143	177	137

The information in the share performance graph and table has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but neither its accuracy nor its completeness can be guaranteed. The historical information set forth above is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Accordingly, we do not make or endorse any predictions as to future share performance.

The share performance graph and table shall not be deemed, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to be (i) “soliciting material” or “filed” or (ii) incorporated by reference by any general statement into any filing made by us with the SEC, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate such share performance graph and table by reference.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following selected financial data are as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the more detailed information contained in the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto contained in Part IV, Financial Statements, and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7, included elsewhere in this 2020 Form 10-K.


Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition Highlights
(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)
	For the year ended
	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities	$	2,150,714	$	2,614,408	$	2,486,130	$	2,851,316	$	3,330,063
Agency RMBS	$	90,738	$	6,490,293	$	9,240,057	$	2,329,059	$	2,727,047
Agency CMBS	$	1,740,368	$	2,850,717	$	2,948,893	$	2,035,769	$	1,440,706

Loans held for investment, at fair value	$	13,112,129	$	14,292,815	$	12,572,581	$	13,678,263	$	8,753,653
Total assets	$	17,523,019	$	27,118,671	$	27,708,639	$	21,222,070	$	16,684,908
Secured financing agreements	$	4,636,847	$	13,427,545	$	14,030,465	$	7,250,452	$	5,600,903
Securitized debt, collateralized by Non-Agency RMBS	$	113,433	$	133,557	$	159,955	$	205,780	$	334,124

Securitized debt at fair value, loans held for investment	$	8,711,677	$	8,179,608	$	8,455,376	$	9,388,657	$	6,941,097
Total liabilities	$	13,743,633	$	23,165,378	$	24,004,810	$	17,587,093	$	13,561,375
Stockholders' equity	$	3,779,386	$	3,953,293	$	3,703,829	$	3,634,977	$	3,123,533
Book value per common share	$	12.36	$	16.15	$	15.90	$	16.85	$	15.87
Number of shares outstanding	230,556,760		187,226,081		187,052,398		187,809,288		187,739,634


Consolidated Statements of Operations Highlights
(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)
	For the Year Ended
	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Interest income	$	1,030,250	$	1,361,110	$	1,273,316	$	1,138,758	$	934,068
Interest expense	$	516,181	$	758,814	$	679,108	$	532,748	$	347,857
Net interest income	$	514,069	$	602,296	$	594,208	$	606,010	$	586,211
Net income	$	88,854	$	413,551	$	411,637	$	524,668	$	551,943
Income per share-basic	$	0.07	$	1.82	$	1.97	$	2.62	$	2.93
Weighted average shares - basic	212,995,533		187,156,990		187,146,170		187,780,355		187,728,634
Core earnings per adjusted diluted common share (1)	$	1.46	$	2.24	$	2.39	$	2.45	$	2.51
Weighted Average diluted shares - Core earnings	229,282,125		188,406,444		187,748,862		188,287,320		188,024,838
Dividends declared per share (2)	$	1.40	$	2.00	$	2.00	$	2.00	$	2.44

(1) Core Earnings is a non-GAAP measure. See discussion of Core Earnings per adjusted diluted common share in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Core Earnings.

(2) For applicable period as reported in our earnings announcements.

Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements included in Item 15 of this 2020 Form 10-K. The discussion may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical in nature. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in this 2020 Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

This section of this 2020 Form 10-K generally discusses 2020 and 2019 items and year-to year comparisons between 2020 and 2019. Discussions of 2018 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2019 and 2018 that are not included in this 2020 Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

Executive Summary

We are a publicly traded REIT that is primarily engaged in the business of investing in a diversified portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, and other real estate-related securities. We use leverage to increase returns while managing the difference or spread between longer duration assets and shorter duration financing. Our principal business objective is to deliver shareholder value through the generation of distributable income and through asset performance linked to residential mortgage credit fundamentals. We selectively invest in residential mortgage assets with a focus on credit analysis, projected prepayment rates, interest rate sensitivity and expected return.

We currently focus our investment activities primarily on acquiring residential mortgage loans and Non-Agency and Agency residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, or MBS. At December 31, 2020, based on the amortized cost balance of our interest earning assets, approximately 79% of our investment portfolio was residential mortgage loans, 10% of our investment portfolio was Agency CMBS, 10% of our investment portfolio was Non-Agency RMBS and 1% of our investment portfolio was Agency IOs. At December 31, 2019, based on the amortized cost balance of our interest earning assets, approximately 55% of our investment portfolio was residential mortgage loans, 26% of our investment portfolio was Agency RMBS, 11% of our investment portfolio was Agency CMBS, and 8% of our investment portfolio was Non-Agency RMBS. The significant change in the composition of our portfolio at December 31, 2020 as compared to December 31, 2019 was driven by the sale of our Agency RMBS portfolio during the first quarter of 2020, as discussed below, as we sought to raise liquidity during the severe market conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We use leverage to increase returns and to finance the acquisition of our assets. We expect to finance our investments using a variety of financing sources including, when available, securitizations, warehouse facilities, repurchase agreements, structured asset financing and offerings of our securities. We may manage our debt and interest rate risk by utilizing interest rate hedges, such as interest rate swaps, caps, options, swaptions and futures to reduce the effect of interest rate fluctuations related to our financing sources. As of December 31, 2020, we did not own any interest rate hedges.

Our investment strategy is intended to take advantage of opportunities in the current interest rate and credit environment. We expect to adjust our strategy to changing market conditions by shifting our asset allocations across these various asset classes as interest rate and credit cycles change over time. We expect to take a long-term view of assets and liabilities.

Market Conditions and our Strategy

Conditions Related to COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 was a very volatile year driven by the global COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the broader economy. Through March and April as businesses closed and more people worked from home, normal daily patterns of work, school and daily life changed dramatically. As a result, unemployment skyrocketed, equity markets experienced large declines and interest rates fell. Liquidity and lending from banks to businesses was significantly reduced. These conditions put significant pressure on the mortgage REIT industry due to its reliance on financing operations and repurchase lending from banks. The Federal Reserve assisted with asset purchase programs, government stimulus and monetary policy in the form of low interest rates, and signaled its intent to keep interest rates low. These measures were intended to promote price stability and the smooth functioning of markets.

In the residential loan sector servicers have worked with borrowers to provide different options to keep borrowers in their homes, including modification, deferral and forbearance programs. The residential housing market has shown resilience this year as housing saw strong home price appreciation supported by low mortgage rates and increasing demand as some

individuals left cities to buy homes in the suburbs. In addition, as the year progressed, the number of homeowners relying on forbearance programs trended down.

In the second half of 2020, unemployment started to trend down as some businesses reopened. Equities rebounded quickly and fixed income prices improved. The end of the presidential election cycle as well as the news about COVID vaccines provided some stability for financial markets.

Despite improving conditions, there is still significant uncertainty and risks related to COVID-19 and economic conditions. See “Part I. Item 1A Risk Factors” for additional details on COVID pandemic's impact on our business. In particular, our residential mortgage loans and Non-Agency MBS are subject to significant credit risk, and it is unclear how the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic may impact the credit quality of these assets over time.

We have been working remotely since March 2020 and expect that to continue. We have the technology in place for all employees to work remotely with limited change in normal working patterns. We have exercised our business continuity plans effectively to date, with limited operational impact.

Portfolio and Financing

Consistent with current market conditions and our intention to enhance our liquidity and strengthen our cash position, we de-levered during the first quarter of 2020 and took steps to manage our portfolio through the unprecedented market volatility and preserve long-term stockholder value, including completing various transactions to reposition our portfolio. Consistent with our business strategy of using our Agency MBS portfolio as a source of liquidity, we sold our Agency RMBS portfolio during the first quarter. The proceeds from the sale were used to pay off debt, reduce leverage and to otherwise strengthen our balance sheet.

While market conditions are challenging, we have continued our business strategy of buying residential mortgage loans and securitizing them. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we purchased $1.9 billion of residential mortgage loans. We sponsored two securitizations of $883 million during the first quarter, two securitizations of $715 million during the second quarter, three securitizations of $1.0 billion during the third quarter, and four securitizations of $1.5 billion during the fourth quarter. These securitizations reduced our warehouse financing risk and resulted in longer term financing by selling senior securities from the securitization trusts.

We have also taken action to limit our exposure to repurchase agreement financing to reduce margin call risk. As of December 31, 2020, our outstanding secured financing agreements which includes repurchase agreements were approximately $4.6 billion, compared to $13.4 billion at December 31, 2019, representing a reduction of approximately 65%. In addition, during 2020 we have obtained $1.2 billion of Non-Agency and loan financing on a non-mark-to-market basis and an additional $251 million on longer term credit financing facilities that mature in 2023 or later. We believe these actions provide more stability to our credit financing strategy. Non-mark-to-market and longer term Non-Agency and loan financing represents approximately 46% of our credit repurchase facilities as of December 31, 2020. Financing for our Agency CMBS portfolio continues to be available at relatively attractive terms, given the current rate environment.

In April 2020, we completed the issuance of $374 million aggregate principal amount of 7.00% convertible senior notes due 2023. After deducting the underwriting discount and offering costs, we received $362 million. At completion of the offering, these notes were convertible at the option of the holder at a conversion rate of 153.8461 common shares per $1,000 principal amount of convertible senior notes (equivalent to a conversion price of $6.50 per common share). Upon conversion of these notes by a holder, the holder receives shares of our common stock. As of December 31, 2020, approximately $321 million of senior notes have been converted into approximately 49 million shares of our common stock. In April 2020, concurrently with the pricing of the Notes, we entered into call option transactions at an initial strike price of approximately $6.50 per share and covered approximately $250 million of the offering. We exercised our capped call options during the fourth quarter of 2020 and received a settlement of 4.7 million shares, which were retired and removed from issued and outstanding shares.

On June 8, 2020, we entered into a $400 million senior secured, non-mark-to-market credit agreement with certain lenders. Pursuant to the credit agreement, we pledged approximately $550 million of existing assets, including approximately $482 million of securities from our sponsored mortgage loan securitizations, related risk retention securities, and resecuritizations. In connection with the credit agreement, we issued warrants to each of the lenders, which provides the lenders the right to purchase up to an aggregate of 20,300,000 shares of our common stock, at a price of $0.01 per share, which represented approximately 7.7% of our common stock after giving effect to the issuance of the warrant shares. We are permitted to settle any exercise of the warrants in cash at a price of 90% of the fair market value of our common stock at the time of exercise.

We continue to seek attractive financing terms for the portfolio; however, no assurance can be given as to whether, when or what may be the terms of any such financing.

The steps we discussed above, including selling Agency RMBS and negotiating new financing arrangements, added liquidity to our balance sheet which allowed us to retain investments we deem valuable and difficult to replace. This strategy helped us to participate in the recovery of asset prices from the depressed levels experienced in March to much improved prices and valuations during the second half of 2020. We also have taken advantage of selling certain ACMBS bonds at attractive prices as the market has rallied given recent market stability, Federal Reserve buying programs and stronger financing terms. These actions have led an improvement in book value during the second half of 2020. Our book value per common share was $12.36 as of December 31, 2020, down from $16.15 as of December 31, 2019, but up from $11.91 as of September 30, 2020. Our book value is based on December 31, 2020 issued and outstanding common shares and excludes the warrant shares discussed above.

Common Stock Buyback

On March 13, 2020, we announced a reauthorization of $150 million common stock buyback program. As of December 31, 2020, we had repurchased approximately $22 million of common stock under the program.

2020 Common Stock Dividends

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we declared dividends to common shareholders of $301 million, or $1.40, per share.

We will continue to monitor market conditions and the potential impact the ongoing volatility and uncertainty may have on our business. Our Board of Directors will continue to evaluate the payment of dividends as market conditions evolve, and no definitive determination has been made at this time. While the terms and timing of the approval and declaration of cash dividends, if any, on shares of our capital stock is at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and we cannot predict how market conditions may evolve, we intend to distribute to our stockholders an amount equal to at least 90% of our REIT taxable income determined before applying the deduction for dividends paid and by excluding net capital gains consistent with our intention to maintain our qualification as a REIT under the Code.

Business Operations

Net Income Summary

The table below presents our net income on a GAAP basis for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


Net Income
(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited)
	For the Year Ended
	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Net interest income:
Interest income (1)	$	1,030,250	$	1,361,110	$	1,273,316
Interest expense (2)	516,181		758,814		679,108
Net interest income	514,069		602,296		594,208

Increase (decrease) in provision for credit losses	180		—		—




Net other-than-temporary credit impairment losses	—		(4,853)		(21,791)


Other investment gains (losses):
Net unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives	201,000		(106,209)		(141,162)
Realized gains (losses) on terminations of interest rate swaps	(463,966)		(359,726)		—
Net realized gains (losses) on derivatives	(41,086)		(34,423)		18,369
Net gains (losses) on derivatives	(304,052)		(500,358)		(122,793)
Net unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value	(110,664)		409,634		46,632
Net realized gains (losses) on sales of investments	166,946		20,360		(2,743)

Gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt	(54,418)		9,318		26,376
Total other gains (losses)	(302,188)		(61,046)		(52,528)




Other expenses:




Compensation and benefits	44,811		48,880		35,114
General and administrative expenses	25,346		26,555		22,664
Servicing fees	37,464		36,290		40,773
Transaction expenses	15,068		10,928		9,610
Total other expenses	122,689		122,653		108,161
Income (loss) before income taxes	89,012		413,744		411,728
Income taxes	158		193		91
Net income (loss)	$	88,854	$	413,551	$	411,637

Dividends on preferred stock	73,750		72,704		43,197

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders	$	15,104	$	340,847	$	368,440

Net income (loss) per share available to common shareholders:
Basic	$	0.07	$	1.82	$	1.97
Diluted	$	0.07	$	1.81	$	1.96

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic	212,995,533		187,156,990		187,146,170
Diluted	226,438,341		188,406,444		187,748,862


Dividends declared per share of common stock	$	1.40	$	2.00	$	2.00

(1) Includes interest income of consolidated VIEs of $683,456, $780,746 and $904,830 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. See Note 9 to consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

(2) Includes interest expense of consolidated VIEs of $285,142, $337,387 and $395,255 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. See Note 9 to consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Beginning in March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the U.S. and global economies including the mortgage REIT industry and impacted our business and our results of operations. Because of the size and breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of the direct and indirect consequences of COVID-19 are not yet known and may not emerge for some time. As discussed above, the significant dislocation in the financial markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sharp decrease in interest rates, credit spread widening and an unprecedented illiquidity in secured financing agreements and MBS markets which in turn has negatively affected asset pricing on our portfolio.

We have taken steps to respond to current market conditions, enhance our liquidity and strengthen our cash position by, among other things, selling our Agency RMBS portfolio and using the proceeds to pay off debt and terminate hedging, closing eight securitizations and reducing short term repurchase agreement financing risk and establishing longer term financing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions in the real estate and financial markets have negatively affected and is expected to continue to negatively affect our business. We have also adopted current expected credit losses (or CECL) accounting guidance beginning January 1, 2020. The factors described above and throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K (particularly as related to COVID-19) have driven the majority of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 and are expected to continue to impact our results of operations in future periods. Thus, our results of operations should be read and viewed in the context of these unprecedented conditions and related future uncertainty.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, our net income available to common shareholders was $15 million, or $0.07 per average basic common share, compared to $341 million, or $1.82 per average basic common share, for the same period in 2019. The lower net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to December 31, 2019 was primarily due to portfolio repositioning efforts and decreasing asset prices in our portfolio because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related illiquidity and volatility experienced in financial markets. We had net losses on derivatives of $304 million, net unrealized losses on financial instruments at fair value of $111 million and losses on extinguishment of debt of $54 million, partially offset by net interest income of $514 million and gains on sales of investments of $167 million during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Interest Income

The changes in our interest income for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, are primarily driven by the selling of our Agency RMBS portfolio and adoption of CECL guidance.

Interest income decreased by $331 million, or 24%, to $1.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $1.4 billion for the same period in 2019. The decline in interest income for the year ended December 31, 2020 is primarily due to the sale of the Agency RMBS portfolio to respond to current market conditions driven by COVID-19 disruptions. The sale of the Agency RMBS portfolio reduced our interest income earned on Agency RMBS by $246 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019. Additionally, interest income on our Non-Agency RMBS investments decreased by approximately $67 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, driven mostly by lower yields due in part to the adoption of CECL guidance and a decrease in Non-Agency RMBS asset balances from paydowns and some losses.

Interest Expense

Interest expense decreased by $243 million, or 32%, to $516 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $759 million for the same period in 2019. The decline in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, was primarily driven by Federal Funds rate cuts, a reduction on secured financing agreements collateralized by Agency MBS and lower borrowing rates on our Securitized Debt collateralized by Loans held for investments. While balances declined as leverage was reduced and secured financing rates on borrowings collateralized by Agency securities fell, rates on borrowings collateralized by non-agency securities increased due to limited liquidity and implied risk, as many of the non-agency securities we own are in the first loss tranche and the future value for these securities is uncertain given COVID -19 impacts, modification, deferral and forbearance programs.

Interest expense for GAAP reporting does not include the periodic costs of our derivatives, which are reported separately in our GAAP financial statements.

Economic Net Interest Income

Our “Economic net interest income” is a non-GAAP financial measure that equals GAAP net interest income excluding net realized gains or losses on interest rate swaps, interest expense on long term debt and any interest earned on cash. Realized

gains or losses on our interest rate swaps are the periodic net settlement payments made or received. For the purpose of computing Economic net interest income and ratios relating to cost of funds measures throughout this section, interest expense includes net payments on our interest rate swaps, which is presented as a part of Net realized gains (losses) on derivatives in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. Interest rate swaps are used to manage the increase in interest paid on secured financing agreements in a rising rate environment. Presenting the net contractual interest payments on interest rate swaps with the interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities reflects our total contractual interest payments. We believe this presentation is useful to investors because it depicts the economic value of our investment strategy by showing all components of interest expense and net interest income. However, Economic net interest income should not be viewed in isolation and is not a substitute for net interest income computed in accordance with GAAP. Where indicated, interest expense, including interest payments on interest rate swaps, is referred to as Economic interest expense. Where indicated, net interest income reflecting interest payments on interest rate swaps, is referred to as Economic net interest income.

The following table reconciles the Economic net interest income to GAAP Net interest income for the periods presented.


	GAAP Interest Income		GAAP Interest Expense		Net Realized (Gains) Losses on Interest Rate Swaps		Interest Expense on Long Term Debt		Economic Interest Expense		GAAP Net Interest Income		Net Realized Gains (Losses) on Interest Rate Swaps		Other (1)		Economic Net Interest Income
For the Year Ended December 31, 2020	$	1,030,250	$	516,181	$	6,385	$	(7,082)	$	515,484	$	514,069	$	(6,385)	$	5,755	$	513,439
For the Year Ended December 31, 2019	$	1,361,110	$	758,814	$	(3,012)	$	—	$	755,802	$	602,296	$	3,012	$	(7,938)	$	597,370
For the Year Ended December 31, 2018	$	1,273,316	$	679,108	$	1,488	$	—	$	680,596	$	594,208	$	(1,488)	$	760	$	593,480

For the Quarter Ended December 31, 2020	$	236,156	$	120,285	$	—	$	(1,197)	$	119,088	$	115,871	$	—	$	1,177	$	117,048
For the Quarter Ended September 30, 2020	$	247,905	$	124,557	$	—	$	(1,495)	$	123,062	$	123,348	$	—	$	1,487	$	124,835
For the Quarter Ended June 30, 2020	$	245,922	$	129,256	$	—	$	(4,391)	$	124,865	$	116,666	$	—	$	4,358	$	121,024
For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2020	$	300,266	$	142,083	$	6,385	$	—	$	148,468	$	158,183	$	(6,385)	$	(1,266)	$	150,532

(1) Primarily interest expense on Long term debt and interest income on cash and cash equivalents.

Net Interest Rate Spread

The following table shows our average earning assets held, interest earned on assets, yield on average interest earning assets, average debt balance, economic interest expense, economic average cost of funds, economic net interest income and net interest rate spread for the periods presented.

For the Quarter Ended

December 31, 2020

December 31, 2019

(dollars in thousands)

Average
Balance

Interest

Average
Yield/Cost

Average
Balance

Interest

Average
Yield/Cost

Assets:

Interest-earning assets (1):