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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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

 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

☐  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: 1-13991

 

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  x  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 Exchange Act.  Yes  o  No  x

 

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   x  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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).  Yes  x  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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of

the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

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. o

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. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  ☐  No  x

 

On June 30, 2020, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $1.1 billion based on the closing sales price of our common stock on such date as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

On February 17, 2021, the registrant had a total of 452,058,867 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on or about June 2, 2021, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

MFA FINANCIAL, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PART I
Item 1.			Business			1
Item 1A.			Risk Factors			6
Item 1B.			Unresolved Staff Comments			35
Item 2.			Properties			35
Item 3.			Legal Proceedings			35
Item 4.			Mine Safety Disclosures			35
PART II
Item 5.			Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			36
Item 6.			Reserved			38
Item 7.			Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			39
Item 7A.			Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			60
Item 8.			Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			66
Item 9.			Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			135
Item 9A.			Controls and Procedures			135
Item 9B.			Other Information			138
PART III
Item 10.			Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			142
Item 11.			Executive Compensation			142
Item 12.			Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			143
Item 13.			Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence			143
Item 14.			Principal Accountant Fees and Services			143
PART IV
Item 15.			Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			144
Item 16.			Form 10-K Summary			149
Signatures						150

 

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer to MFA Financial, Inc. 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:  Purchased Performing Loans refer to loans that may include: (i) loans to finance (or refinance) one-to four-family residential properties that are not considered to meet the definition of a “Qualified Mortgage” in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“Non-QM loans”), (ii) short-term business purpose loans collateralized by residential properties made to non-occupant borrowers who intend to rehabilitate and sell the property for a profit (“Rehabilitation loans” or “Fix and Flip loans”), (iii) loans to finance (or refinance) non-owner occupied one-to four-family residential properties that are rented to one or more tenants (“Single-family rental loans”), and (iv) previously originated loans secured by residential real estate that is generally owner occupied (“Seasoned performing loans”). MBS generally refers to mortgage-backed securities secured by pools of residential mortgage loans; Agency MBS refers to MBS that are issued or guaranteed by a federally chartered corporation, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), or an agency of the U.S. Government, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”); Non-Agency MBS refers to MBS that are not guaranteed by any agency of the U.S. Government or any federally chartered corporation and include (i) Legacy Non-Agency MBS, which are MBS issued prior to 2008, and (ii) RPL/NPL MBS, which refers to MBS backed primarily by securitized re-performing and non-performing loans and are generally structured such that the coupon increases from 300 - 400 basis points at 36 - 48 months from issuance or sooner. Hybrids refer to hybrid mortgage loans that have interest rates that are fixed for a specified period of time and, thereafter, generally adjust annually to an increment over a specified interest rate index; ARMs refer to adjustable-rate mortgage loans which have interest rates that reset annually or more frequently; CRT securities refer to credit risk transfer securities, that are debt obligations issued by or sponsored by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; MSR-related assets refer to certain term notes backed directly or indirectly by mortgage servicing rights or loans to certain entities that are generally secured by cash flows generated by mortgage servicing rights and other unencumbered assets owned by the borrower; and Real Estate Owned (“REO”) refers to real estate acquired by us, including through foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or purchased in connection with the acquisition of residential whole loans.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to risks and uncertainties.  The forward-looking statements contain words such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may” or similar expressions.

 

These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results with respect to our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives.  Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, may be forward-looking: risks related to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic, including the pandemic’s effects on the general economy and our business, financial position and results of operations (including, among other potential effects, increased delinquencies and greater than expected losses in our whole loan portfolio); changes in interest rates and the market (i.e., fair) value of our residential whole loans, MBS and other assets; changes in the prepayment rates on residential mortgage assets, an increase of which could result in a reduction of the yield on certain investments in its portfolio and could require us to reinvest the proceeds received by it as a result of such prepayments in investments with lower coupons, while a decrease in which could result in an increase in the interest rate duration of certain investments in our portfolio making their valuation more sensitive to changes in interest rates and could result in lower forecasted cash flows; credit risks underlying our assets, including changes in the default rates and management’s assumptions regarding default rates on the mortgage loans in our residential whole loan portfolio; our ability to borrow to finance our assets and the terms, including the cost, maturity and other terms, of any such borrowings; implementation of or changes in government regulations or programs affecting our business; our estimates regarding taxable income the actual amount of which is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in the amount of interest income and financing costs, the method elected by us to accrete the market discount on residential whole loans and the extent of prepayments, realized losses and changes in the composition of our residential whole loan portfolios that may occur during the applicable tax period, including gain or loss on any MBS disposals and whole loan modifications, foreclosures and liquidations; the timing and amount of distributions to stockholders, which are declared and paid at the discretion of our Board and will depend on, among other things, our taxable income, our financial results and overall financial condition and liquidity, maintenance of our REIT qualification and such other factors as the Board deems relevant; our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (or the Investment Company Act), including statements regarding the concept release issued by the SEC relating to interpretive issues under the Investment Company Act with respect to the status under the Investment Company Act of certain companies that are engaged in the business of acquiring mortgages and mortgage-related interests; our ability to continue growing our residential whole loan portfolio, which is dependent on, among other things, the supply of loans offered for sale in the market; expected returns on our investments in nonperforming residential whole loans (or NPLs), which are affected by, among other things, the length of time required to foreclose upon, sell, liquidate or otherwise reach a resolution of the property underlying the NPL, home price values, amounts advanced to carry the asset (e.g., taxes, insurance, maintenance expenses, etc. on the underlying property) and the amount ultimately realized upon resolution of the asset; targeted or expected returns on our investments in recently-originated loans, the performance of which is, similar to our other mortgage loan investments, subject to, among other things, differences in prepayment risk, credit risk and financing cost associated with such investments; risks associated with our investments in MSR-related assets, including servicing, regulatory and economic risks, risks associated with our investments in loan originators, and risks associated with investing in real estate assets, including changes in business conditions and the general economy.  These and other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those described in the annual, quarterly and current reports that we file with the SEC, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements we make.  All forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.  New risks and uncertainties arise over time and it is not possible to predict those events or how they may affect 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.  (See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K)