Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2024

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (the “Company”), is a real estate finance company that primarily originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments secured by properties located within and outside the United States. We are a Maryland corporation and have made tax elections to be treated as a real estate investment trust (a "REIT") for U.S. federal income tax purposes since 2013. We believe that we have qualified as a REIT and we intend to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. Substantially all of our business is conducted through Benefit Street Partners Realty Operating Partnership, L.P. (the “OP”), a Delaware limited partnership. We are the sole general partner and directly or indirectly hold all of the units of limited partner interests in the OP. One or more of our wholly-owned subsidiaries are treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (each a “TRS”), and are subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes.

The Company has no employees. Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. serves as our advisor ("Advisor") pursuant to an advisory agreement, as amended on August 18, 2021 (the "Advisory Agreement"). The Advisor, an investment adviser registered with the SEC, is a credit-focused alternative asset management firm that was established in 2008. Our Advisor's credit platform manages funds for institutions and high-net-worth investors across various credit funds and complementary strategies including high yield, levered loans, private/opportunistic debt, liquid credit, structured credit and commercial real estate debt. These strategies complement each other as they all leverage the sourcing, analytical, compliance, and operational capabilities that encompass the platform. The Advisor manages the Company's affairs on a day-to-day basis. The Advisor receives compensation fees and reimbursements for services related to the investment and management of the Company's assets and the operations of the Company. The advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., which together with its various subsidiaries operates as "Franklin Templeton”.

The Company primarily focuses on originating, acquiring and asset managing commercial real estate debt investments, including first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. Secondarily, the Company's real estate securities business focuses on investing in and asset managing real estate securities. Historically this business has focused primarily on commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS"), commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation bonds and single asset single borrower bonds (collectively "CMBS bonds"), collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") and other securities. The Company also originates conduit loans which the Company intends to sell through its TRS into CMBS securitization transactions. The Company also owns real estate that was either acquired by the Company through foreclosure, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or that was purchased for investment.

Investment Objectives

Our objective is to provide our common shareholders attractive, risk-adjusted returns through a stable dividend and capital growth.

Investment Strategies and Policies

We have four investment strategies. Our first and primary strategy is to originate, acquire and manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt, including first mortgage loans, subordinate loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. We expect that our portfolio of debt investments will be secured by real estate located within and outside the United States and diversified by property type and geographic location. Our second strategy is to invest in real estate securities, such as CMBS, CMBS bonds, senior unsecured debt of publicly-traded REITs and CDO notes. Our third strategy is to originate conduit loans and sell them through our TRS business into CMBS securitization transactions. Our fourth strategy is to maximize cash flows from real estate acquired by the Company through foreclosure and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, and purchases of real estate that generally are, or will be, subject to a triple net lease.

Commercial Real Estate Debt

We originate, fund, acquire and structure commercial real estate debt, including first mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, and other loans related to commercial real estate. We may also acquire some equity participations in the underlying collateral of commercial real estate debt. We structure, underwrite, and originate most of our investments. We use conservative underwriting criteria to focus on risk adjusted returns based on several factors, which may include the leverage point, debt service coverage and sensitivity, lease sustainability studies, market and economic conditions, quality of the underlying collateral and location, reputation and track record of the borrower, and a clear exit or refinancing plan for the borrower. Our underwriting process involves comprehensive financial, structural, operational, and legal due diligence to assess any risks in connection with making such investments so that we can optimize pricing and structuring. By originating loans directly, we are able to structure and underwrite loans that satisfy our standards, establish a direct relationship with the borrower, and utilize our own preferred documentation. Described below are some of the types of loans we may originate or acquire. In addition, although we generally prefer the benefits of new origination, market conditions can create situations where holders of commercial real estate debt may be in distress and are therefore willing to sell to us at prices that compensate us for the lack of control typically associated with directly structured investments.

First Mortgage Loans

We primarily focus on first mortgage loans. First mortgage loans generally finance the acquisition, refinancing or rehabilitation of commercial real estate. First mortgage loans may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term, may be fixed or floating rate, and are predominantly current-pay loans. We may originate or acquire current-pay first mortgage loans backed by properties that fit our investment strategy. We may selectively syndicate portions of these loans, including senior or junior participations that will effectively provide permanent financing or optimize returns which may include retained origination fees.

First mortgage loans typically provide for a higher recovery rate and lower defaults than other debt positions due to the lender's favorable control position, which at times can include control of the entire capital structure. Because of these attributes, this type of investment typically receives favorable treatment from third-party rating agencies and financing sources, which should increase the liquidity of these investments. However, these loans typically generate lower returns than subordinate debt, such as subordinate loans and mezzanine loans, commonly referred to as B-notes.

B-notes

B-notes consist of subordinate mortgage loans, including structurally subordinated first mortgage loans and junior participations in first mortgage loans or participations in these types of assets. Like first mortgage loans, these loans generally finance the acquisition, refinancing, rehabilitation or construction of commercial real estate. Subordinated mortgage loans or B-notes may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term, may be fixed or floating rate, and are predominantly current-pay loans. We may originate or acquire current-pay subordinated mortgage loans or B-notes backed by high quality properties that fit our investment strategy. We may create subordinated mortgage loans by tranching our directly originated first mortgage loans generally through syndications of senior first mortgages or we may buy such assets directly from third party originators.

Bridge Loans

We may offer bridge financing products to borrowers who are typically seeking short-term capital to be used in an acquisition, development or refinancing of a given property. From the borrower’s perspective, shorter term bridge financing is advantageous because it allows time to improve the property value through repositioning without encumbering it with restrictive long-term debt. The terms of these loans generally do not exceed three years.

Mezzanine Loans

Mezzanine loans are secured by one or more direct or indirect ownership interests in an entity that directly or indirectly owns commercial real estate and generally finance the acquisition, refinancing, rehabilitation or construction of commercial real estate. Mezzanine loans may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term and may be fixed or floating rate. We may originate or acquire mezzanine loans backed by properties that fit our investment strategy. We may own such mezzanine loans directly or we may hold a participation in a mezzanine loan or a sub-participation in a mezzanine loan. These loans are predominantly current-pay loans (although there may be a portion of the interest that accrues) and may provide for participation in the value or cash flow appreciation of the underlying property as described below. With the credit market disruption and resulting dearth of capital available in this part of the capital structure, we believe that the opportunities to both directly originate and to buy mezzanine loans from third parties on favorable terms will continue to be attractive.

Equity Participations or “Kickers”

We may pursue equity participation opportunities in connection with our commercial real estate debt originations if we believe that the risk-reward characteristics of the loan merit additional upside participation related to the potential appreciation in value of the underlying assets securing the loan. Equity participations can be paid in the form of additional interest, exit fees, percentage of sharing in refinance or resale proceeds or warrants in the borrower. Equity participation can also take the form of a conversion feature, sometimes referred to as a "kicker," which permits the lender to convert a loan or preferred equity investment into common equity in the borrower at a negotiated premium to the current net asset value of the borrower. We expect to generate additional revenues from any equity participations in which we invest as a result of excess cash flows being distributed or as appreciated properties are sold or refinanced.

Real Estate Securities

In addition to our focus on origination of and investments in commercial real estate debt, we may also acquire real estate securities, such as CMBS, CMBS bonds, CDO notes, and equity investments in entities that own commercial real estate.

CMBS & CMBS Bonds

CMBS and CMBS bonds are securities that are collateralized by, or evidence ownership interests in, a single commercial mortgage loan or a partial or entire pool of mortgage loans secured by commercial properties. CMBS and CMBS bonds are generally pass-through certificates that represent beneficial ownership interests in common law trusts whose assets consist of defined portfolios of one or more commercial mortgage loans. They are typically issued in multiple tranches whereby the more senior classes are entitled to priority distributions of specified principal and interest payments from the trust’s underlying assets. The senior classes are often securities which, if rated, would have ratings ranging from low investment grade “BBB-” to higher investment grades “A,” “AA” or “AAA.” The junior, subordinated classes typically would include one or more non-investment grade classes which, if rated, would have ratings below investment grade “BBB.” Losses and other shortfalls from expected amounts to be received on the mortgage pool are borne first by the most subordinate classes, which receive payments only after the more senior classes have received all principal and/or interest to which they are entitled. We may invest in senior or subordinated, investment grade or non-investment grade CMBS and CMBS bonds, as well as unrated CMBS and CMBS bonds.

Unsecured Publicly-Traded REIT Debt Securities

We may also choose to acquire senior unsecured debt of publicly-traded equity REITs that acquire and hold real estate. Publicly-traded REITs may own large, diversified pools of commercial real estate properties or they may focus on a specific type of property, such as shopping centers, office buildings, multifamily properties and industrial warehouses. Publicly-traded REITs typically employ moderate leverage. Corporate bonds issued by these types of REITs are usually rated investment grade and benefit from strong covenant protection.

CDO Notes

CDOs are multiple class debt notes, secured by pools of assets, such as CMBS and mezzanine loans. Like typical securitization structures, in a CDO, the assets are pledged to a trustee for the benefit of the holders of the bonds. CDOs often have reinvestment periods that typically last for five years, during which time, proceeds from the sale of a collateral asset may be invested in substitute collateral. Upon termination of the reinvestment period, the static pool functions very similarly to a CMBS securitization where repayment of principal allows for redemption of bonds sequentially.

Commercial Real Estate Equity Investments

We may acquire: (i) equity interests (including preferred equity) in an entity (including, without limitation, a partnership or a limited liability company) that is an owner of commercial real property (or in an entity operating or controlling commercial real property, directly or through affiliates), which may be structured to receive a priority return or is senior to the owner's equity (in the case of preferred equity); (ii) certain strategic joint venture opportunities where the risk-return and potential upside through sharing in asset or platform appreciation is compelling; and (iii) private issuances of equity securities (including preferred equity securities) of public companies. Our commercial real estate equity investments may or may not have a scheduled maturity and are expected to be of longer duration (five-to-ten year terms) than our typical portfolio investment. Such investments are expected to be fixed rate (if they have a stated investment rate) and may have accrual structures and provide other distributions or equity participations in overall returns above negotiated levels.

Conduit Loans

The Company originates Conduit loans which the Company intends to sell through its TRS into CMBS securitization transactions at a profit. The Conduit loans are typically fixed-rate commercial real estate loans and are long-term (up to ten years), and are predominantly current-pay loans.

Ownership of Properties and Other Possible Investments

Although we expect that most of our investments will be of the types described above, we may make other investments. For example, we own and expect in the future to own real estate acquired by the Company through foreclosure and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or from purchases of real estate that generally are, or will be, subject to a triple net lease. We may also invest in whatever other types of interests in real estate-related assets that we believe are in our best interest which may include the commercial real property underlying our debt investments as a result of a loan workout, foreclosure or similar circumstances.

Investment Process

Our Advisor has the authority to make all the decisions regarding our investments consistent with the investment guidelines and borrowing policies approved by our board of directors and subject to the direction and oversight of our board of directors. With respect to investments in commercial real estate debt, our board of directors has adopted investment guidelines that our Advisor must follow when acquiring such assets on our behalf . We will not purchase assets in which our Advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates has an interest without a determination by a majority of our directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction that such transaction is fair and reasonable to us and at a price to us no greater than the cost of the asset to the affiliated seller, unless there is substantial justification for the excess amount and such excess is reasonable. Our investment guidelines and borrowing policies may be altered by a majority of our directors without approval of our stockholders. Our Advisor may not alter our investment guidelines or borrowing policies without the approval of a majority of our directors, including a majority of our independent directors.

Borrowing Strategies and Policies

Our financing strategy primarily includes the use of secured repurchase agreement facilities for loans, securities and securitizations. We also may raise capital through public or private offerings of our equity securities, including through our effective shelf registration statement or our “at-the-market” sales program. In addition to our current mix of financing sources, we may also access additional forms of financings, including credit facilities, and public or private secured and unsecured debt issuances by us or our subsidiaries.

We expect to use additional debt financing as a source of capital. We intend to employ reasonable levels of borrowing in order to provide more cash available for investment and to generate improved returns. We believe that careful use of leverage will help us to achieve our diversification goals and potentially enhance the returns on our investments. Our board of directors oversees our aggregate borrowing levels.

Income Taxes

We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code") commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. In general, as a REIT, if we meet certain organizational and operational requirements and distribute at least 90% of our "REIT taxable income" (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to our stockholders in a year, we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent of the income that we distribute. We believe that we currently qualify and we intend to continue to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and statutory relief provisions were not to apply, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our income at regular corporate tax rates for the year in which we do not qualify and the succeeding four years. Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and property and U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

We pay income taxes on our Conduit segment, which is conducted by our wholly-owned TRS entities. The income taxes on the Conduit segment are paid at the U.S. federal and applicable state levels.

Competition

Our net income depends, in large part, on our ability to originate investments that provide returns in excess of our borrowing cost. In originating these investments, 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, private funds, other lenders, governmental bodies, and other entities, many of which have greater financial resources and lower costs of capital available to them than we have. In addition, there are numerous mortgage REITs with asset acquisition objectives similar to ours, and others may be organized in the future, which may increase competition for the investments suitable for us. Competitive variables include market presence and visibility, size of loans offered and underwriting standards. To the extent that a competitor is willing to risk larger amounts of capital in a particular transaction or to employ more liberal underwriting standards when evaluating potential loans than we are, our investment volume and profit margins for our investment portfolio could be impacted. Our competitors may also be willing to accept lower returns on their investments and may succeed in buying or underwriting the assets that we have targeted. Although we believe that we are well positioned to compete effectively in each facet of our business, there is enormous competition in our market sector and there can be no assurance that we will compete effectively or that we will not encounter increased competition in the future that could limit our ability to conduct our business effectively.

Human Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2024, we had no employees. Our executive officers serve as officers of our Advisor and are employed by an affiliate of our Advisor. The employees of the Advisor and other affiliates of the Advisor perform a full range of real estate services for us, including origination, acquisitions, accounting, legal, asset management, wholesale brokerage, and investor relations services. We are dependent on these affiliates for services that are essential to us, including asset acquisition decisions, and other general administrative responsibilities. In the event that any of these companies were unable to provide these services to us, we would be required to provide such services ourselves or obtain such services from other sources.

Government Regulation

Our operations are subject, in certain instances, to supervision and regulation by U.S. and other governmental authorities, and may be subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing various requirements and restrictions, which, among other things: (i) regulate credit-granting activities; (ii) establish maximum interest rates, finance charges and other charges; (iii) require disclosures to customers; (iv) govern secured transactions; and (v) set collection, foreclosure, repossession and claims-handling procedures and other trade practices. We intend to conduct our business so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

In our judgment, existing statutes and regulations have not had a material adverse effect on our business. In recent years, legislators in the United States and in other countries have said that greater regulation of financial services firms is needed, particularly in areas such as risk management, leverage, and disclosure. While we expect that additional new regulations in these areas will be adopted and existing ones may change in the future, it is not possible at this time to forecast the exact nature of any future legislation, regulations, judicial decisions, orders or interpretations, nor their impact upon our future business, financial condition, or results of operations or prospects.

Available Information

We electronically file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports, and proxy statements, with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet address at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy statements and information statements, and other information, which may be obtained free of charge. In addition, copies of our filings with the SEC may be obtained from the website maintained for us at www.fbrtreit.com (http://www.fbrtreit.com). Access to these filings is free of charge. We are not incorporating our website or any information from the website into this Form 10-K.

We routinely use our investor relations website, at www.fbrtreit.com (http://www.fbrtreit.com), as a primary channel for disclosing key information to our investors. We may use our website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor our investor relations website, in addition to following our press releases, filings with the SEC, public conference calls, presentations, and webcasts.

Risk Related to Our Financing Strategy

We have a significant amount of indebtedness and may need to incur more in the future.

We have substantial indebtedness. In connection with executing our business strategies, we expect to evaluate the possibility of originating, funding, and acquiring additional commercial real estate debt and making other strategic investments, and we may elect to finance these endeavors by incurring additional indebtedness. The amount of such indebtedness could have material adverse consequences, including:

• hindering our ability to adjust to changing market, industry or economic conditions;
• limiting our ability to access the capital markets to raise additional equity or refinance maturing debt on favorable terms or fund acquisitions;
• limiting the amount of cash flow available for future operations, acquisitions, dividends, stock repurchases or other uses;
• making us more vulnerable to economic or industry downturns, including interest rate increases or sustained high interest rate environments; and
• placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to less leveraged competitors.

Moreover, we may be required to raise substantial additional capital to execute our business strategy. Our ability to arrange additional financing will depend on, among other factors, our financial position and performance, as well as prevailing market conditions and other factors beyond our control. If we are unable to obtain additional financing, our credit ratings could be adversely affected, which could further raise our borrowing costs and further limit our future access to capital and our ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.

We may not be able to earn returns on loans we make in excess of the interest we pay on our borrowings.

We try to generate financial returns by making and investing in loans and debt securities that generate returns in excess of our cost of capital. Our ability to execute this strategy depends on various conditions in the financing markets that are beyond our control, including liquidity, fluctuations in prevailing interest rates and credit spreads. Interest rate and credit spread fluctuations resulting in our interest and related expense exceeding interest and related income would result in operating losses for us. Changes in the level of interest rates and credit spreads also may affect our ability to make new loans or investments and may decrease the value of our existing loans and investments. Increases in interest rates and credit spreads may also negatively affect demand for loans and could result in higher borrower default rates. We may be unable to obtain additional financing on favorable terms or, with respect to our debt and other investments, on terms that match the maturities of the debt originated or other investments acquired, if we are able to obtain additional financing at all.

We rely on the availability of collateralized debt and loan obligation securitization markets to provide long-term financing for our loans and investments.

We rely on short-term borrowings, such as repurchase agreements and our secured revolving credit facilities, to initially fund our investments. The term of these short-term borrowing facilities is generally shorter than the term of our investments and therefore we typically intend to refinance these short-term borrowings with long-term match-funded financing through issuances of CDO’s and CLO’s. There have been times in the past when the CDO and CLO securitization markets have effectively been closed or are only available at a cost of capital that is not practicable. If our current financing strategy became no longer viable, we would have to find alternative forms of long-term financing for our assets. This could subject us to more restrictive recourse borrowings and subject us to capital costs that significantly reduce or eliminate the spread between our cost of capital and the returns on our investments. If alternative financing is not available, we may have to liquidate assets at unfavorable prices to pay off our short-term borrowings or pay significant fees to extend these financing arrangements.

Lenders often require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions.

Financing agreements that we enter into often contain covenants that limit our ability to further incur borrowings, restrict distributions or restrict our operations, such as prohibiting us from discontinuing insurance coverage or replacing our Advisor. These limitations decrease our operating flexibility and may impact our ability to achieve our operating objectives, including making distributions.

During periods of rising interest rates, our interest expense increases may outpace any increases in interest we earn on our assets, and the value of our assets may decrease.

Our operating results depend in large part on the income from our assets, reduced by any credit losses and financing costs. Income from our assets may respond more slowly to interest rate fluctuations than the cost of our borrowings. In a period of rising interest rates, our interest expense on floating-rate debt would increase, while any additional interest income we earn on our floating-rate investments may not compensate for such increase in interest expense. Consequently, changes in interest rates, particularly short-term interest rates, may significantly influence our net income. Increases in these rates will tend to decrease our net income and the market value of our assets. Similarly, in a period of declining interest rates, our interest income on floating-rate investments would generally decrease, and interest rate floors on our floating-rate investments may not align with the interest rate floors on our floating-rate debt to compensate for such a decrease in interest income. Interest rate fluctuations resulting in our interest expense exceeding the income from our assets would result in operating losses for us and may limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. In addition, if we need to repay existing borrowings during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments at times that may not permit realization of the maximum return on those investments, which would adversely affect our profitability.

We may not be able to access financing sources on attractive terms, if at all, which could adversely affect our ability to fund and grow our business, or result in dilution to our existing stockholders.

Our ability to fund our loans and investments may be impacted by our ability to secure bank credit facilities (including term loans and revolving facilities), warehouse facilities and structured financing arrangements, public and private debt issuances (including through securitizations) and derivative instruments, in addition to transaction or asset specific funding arrangements and additional repurchase agreements on acceptable terms. We also rely on short-term financing that would be especially exposed to changes in availability. Our access to sources of financing will depend upon a number of factors, over which we have little or no control, including:

• general economic or market conditions;
• the market’s view of the quality of our assets;
• the market’s perception of our growth potential;
• our current and potential future earnings and cash distributions; and
• the market price of the shares of our common stock and preferred stock.

We may need to periodically access the capital markets to, among other things, raise cash to fund new loans and investments. Unfavorable economic conditions or capital market conditions may increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by our potential lenders not to extend credit. An inability to successfully access the capital markets could limit our ability to grow our business and fully execute our business strategy and could decrease our earnings and liquidity. Additional equity issuances in the capital markets on unfavorable terms could also be dilutive to our existing stockholders. In addition, any dislocation or weakness in the capital and credit markets could adversely affect our lenders and could cause one or more of our lenders to be unwilling or unable to provide us with financing or to increase the costs of that financing. Further, as regulatory capital requirements imposed on our lenders are increased, they may be required to limit, or increase the cost of, financing they provide to us. In general, this could potentially increase our financing costs and reduce our liquidity or require us to sell assets at an inopportune time or price. We cannot make assurances that we will be able to obtain any additional financing on favorable terms or at all.

Our short-term borrowings often require us to provide additional collateral when the fair market value of our collateral decreases, and these calls for collateral could significantly impact our liquidity position.

We use short-term borrowing through repurchase agreements, credit facilities and other arrangements that put our assets and financial condition at risk. We may need to use such short-term borrowings for extended periods of time to the extent we are unable to access long-term financing. Repurchase agreements economically resemble short-term, variable-rate financing and usually require the maintenance of specific loan-to-collateral value ratios. If the market value of the assets subject to a repurchase agreement decline, we may be required to provide additional collateral or make cash payments to maintain the loan-to-collateral value ratio. If we are unable to provide such collateral or cash repayments, the lender may accelerate the loan and we may be required to liquidate the collateral. In a weakening economic environment, or in an environment of widening credit spreads, we would generally expect the value of the commercial real estate debt or securities that serve as collateral for our short-term borrowings to decline, and in such a scenario, it is likely that the terms of our short-term borrowings would require us to provide additional collateral or to make partial repayment, which amounts could be substantial.

Further, such borrowings may require us to maintain a certain amount of cash reserves or to set aside unleveraged assets sufficient to maintain a specified liquidity position that would allow us to satisfy our collateral obligations. In addition, such short-term borrowing facilities may limit the length of time that any given asset may be used as eligible collateral, and these short-term borrowing arrangements may also be restricted to financing certain types of assets, such as first mortgage loans, which could impact our asset allocation. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our assets as fully as we would like, which could reduce our return on assets. If we are unable to meet these collateral obligations, our financial condition could deteriorate rapidly.

Risks Related to Our Investments

Our commercial real estate debt investments are subject to the risks typically associated with ownership of commercial real estate.

Our commercial real estate debt and real estate securities generally are directly or indirectly secured by a lien on real property. The occurrence of a default on a commercial real estate debt investment could result in our acquiring ownership of the property. We do not know whether the values of the properties ultimately securing our commercial real estate debt and loans underlying our securities will remain at the levels existing on the dates of origination of these loans and the dates of origination of the loans ultimately securing our securities, as applicable. In addition, our borrowers could fraudulently inflate the values of the underlying properties. If the values of the properties drop or are discovered to have been fraudulently inflated, the lower value of the security and reduction in borrower equity associated with such loans will increase our risk. In this manner, reduced real estate values could impact the values of our debt and security investments, making them subject to the risks typically associated with real estate ownership.

Our operating results may be adversely affected by a number of risks generally incident to holding real estate and real estate debt, including, without limitation:

• natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, which we expect to increase in strength and frequency due to climate change;
• acts of war or terrorism, or criminal violence, including the consequences of terrorist attacks and other such acts;
• adverse changes in national and local economic and real estate conditions;
• adverse changes in economic and market conditions related to pandemics and health crises, such as COVID-19;
• an oversupply of (or a reduction in demand for) space in the areas where properties securing our loans are located and the attractiveness of particular properties to prospective tenants;
• changes in interest rates and availability of permanent mortgage funds that may render the sale of property difficult or unattractive;
• changes in governmental laws and regulations, fiscal policies and zoning ordinances and the related costs of compliance therewith and the potential for liability under applicable laws;
• costs of remediation and liabilities associated with environmental conditions affecting properties;
• reduced demand for office space, including as a result of changes in work habits, including remote or hybrid work schedules which allow work from remote locations other than the employer’s office premises;
• the potential for uninsured or underinsured property losses; and
• periods of high interest rates and tight money supply.

The value of each property securing our loans is affected significantly by its ability to generate cash flow and net income, which in turn depends on the amount of rental or other income that can be generated net of expenses required to be incurred with respect to the property. Many expenses associated with properties (such as operating expenses and capital expenses) cannot be reduced when there is a reduction in income from the properties.

These factors may have a material adverse effect on the ability of our borrowers to pay their loans and the ability of the borrowers on the underlying loans securing our securities to pay their loans, as well as on the value and the return that we can realize from assets we acquire and originate.

Loans on properties in transition will involve a greater risk of loss than conventional mortgage loans.

We primarily invest in transitional loans to borrowers who are typically seeking short-term capital to be used in an

acquisition or rehabilitation of a property. If the borrower’s plans or projections with respect to the property are not achieved,

some of which, including renovations or expansions, carry heightened risks, the borrower may not receive a sufficient return on the asset to satisfy our transitional loan, and we bear the risk that we may not recover some or all of our investment. In addition, borrowers usually use the proceeds of a conventional mortgage to repay a transitional loan. Transitional loans therefore are subject to risks of a borrower’s inability to obtain such permanent financing, including due to the broader availability of conventional mortgages at amenable rates.

Our success depends on the availability of attractive investment opportunities.

Our loans typically have a term of about three to five years. As a result, a significant amount of our invested capital is repaid at loan maturity each year. Our operating results are dependent upon our ability to identify, structure, consummate, leverage, manage and realize attractive returns on, new loans and other investments. In general, the availability of attractive investment opportunities and, consequently, our operating results, is affected by the level and volatility of interest rates, conditions in the financial markets, general economic conditions, the demand for investment opportunities in our target assets and the supply of capital for such investment opportunities. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in identifying and consummating attractive investments or that such investments, once made, will perform as anticipated.

Delays in liquidating defaulted commercial real estate debt investments could reduce our investment returns.

When we originate or acquire commercial real estate debt investments and there are defaults under those debt investments, we may not be able to repossess and sell the properties securing the commercial real estate debt investment quickly. Foreclosure of a loan can be an expensive and lengthy process that can have a negative effect on our return on the foreclosed loan. Borrowers often resist foreclosure actions by asserting numerous claims, counterclaims and defenses, including but not limited to lender liability claims, in an effort to prolong the foreclosure action. In some states, foreclosure actions can take several years or more to resolve. At any time during the foreclosure proceedings, the borrower may file for bankruptcy, which would have the effect of staying the foreclosure action and further delaying the foreclosure process. The resulting time delay could reduce the value of the assets under the defaulted loans. Furthermore, an action to foreclose on a property securing a loan is regulated by state statutes and regulations and is subject to the delays and expenses associated with lawsuits if the borrower raises defenses or counterclaims. In the event of default by a borrower, these restrictions, among other things, may impede our ability to foreclose on or sell the property securing the loan or to obtain proceeds sufficient to repay all amounts due to us on the loan.

Operating and disposing of properties acquired through foreclosure subject us to additional risks that could harm our results of operations.

The size of our real estate owned portfolio acquired through foreclosure has increased in recent years. We have in the past and we may in the future be forced to operate foreclosed properties for a substantial period, which can be a distraction for our management team and may require us to pay significant costs associated with such properties. Owning and operating real property involves risks that are different (and in many ways more significant) than the risks faced in owning a loan secured by that property. The costs associated with operating and redeveloping the property, including any operating shortfalls and significant capital expenditures, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. We may also be subject to environmental liabilities arising from such properties acquired in the foreclosure process. In addition, at such time that we elect to sell such foreclosed property, the liquidation proceeds upon sale of the underlying real estate may not be sufficient to recover our cost basis, resulting in a loss to us. Furthermore, any costs or delays involved in the maintenance or liquidation of the underlying property will further reduce the net proceeds and, thus, increase the loss.

Subordinate commercial real estate debt that we originate or acquire could expose us to greater losses.

We acquire and originate subordinate commercial real estate debt, including subordinate mortgage and mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. These types of investments may involve a higher degree of risk than the type of assets that constitute the majority of our commercial real estate debt investments, first mortgage loans secured by real property. In the event a borrower declares bankruptcy, we may not be able to fully realize on the assets of the borrower, or the assets of that borrower may not be sufficient to fully satisfy both the first mortgage loan and our subordinate debt investment. If a borrower defaults on our subordinate debt or on debt senior to ours, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our subordinate debt will be satisfied only after the senior debt is paid in full. Where debt senior to our debt investment exists, the presence of intercreditor arrangements may limit our ability to amend our debt agreements, assign our debt, accept prepayments, exercise our remedies (through “standstill periods”) and control decisions made in bankruptcy proceedings relating to our borrowers. As a result, we may not recover some or all of our investment. In addition, real properties with subordinate debt may have higher loan-to-value ratios than conventional debt, resulting in less equity in the real property and increasing the risk of loss of principal and interest.

We may be subject to risks associated with construction lending, such as declining real estate values, cost overruns and delays in completion.

Our commercial real estate debt portfolio may include loans made to developers to construct prospective projects. The primary risks to us of construction loans are the potential for cost overruns, the developer’s failing to meet a project delivery schedule and the inability of a developer to sell or refinance the project at completion in accordance with its business plan and repay our commercial real estate loan due to declining real estate values. These risks could cause us to have to fund more money than we originally anticipated to complete the project. We may also suffer losses on our commercial real estate debt if the developer is unable to sell the project or refinance our commercial real estate debt investment.

Jurisdictions with one action or security first rules or anti-deficiency legislation may limit the ability to foreclose on a property or to realize the obligation secured by the property by obtaining a deficiency judgment.

In the event of any default under our commercial real estate debt investments and in the loans underlying our real estate securities, we bear the risk of loss of principal and nonpayment of interest and fees to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral and the principal amount of the loan. Certain states in which the collateral securing our commercial real estate debt and securities is located may have laws that prohibit more than one judicial action to enforce a mortgage obligation, requiring the lender to exhaust the real property security for such obligation first or limiting the ability of the lender to recover a deficiency judgment from the obligor following the lender’s realization upon the collateral, in particular if a non-judicial foreclosure is pursued. These statutes may limit the right to foreclose on the property or to realize the obligation secured by the property.

Insurance may not cover all potential losses on the properties underlying our investments, which may harm the value of our assets.

We generally require that the borrowers under our commercial real estate debt investments obtain comprehensive insurance covering the mortgaged property, including liability, fire and extended coverage. However, there are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes that may be uninsurable or not economically insurable. Climate change is likely to exacerbate the frequency and severity of these types of events. We may not require borrowers to obtain certain types of insurance if it is deemed commercially unreasonable. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors also might result in insurance proceeds being inadequate to replace a property if it is damaged or destroyed. Under such circumstances, the insurance proceeds, if any, might not be adequate to restore the economic value of the property, which might impair our security interest and decrease the value of the property.

We invest in CMBS and CMBS bonds, which may include subordinate securities, which entails certain risks.

We invest in a variety of CMBS and CMBS bonds, which may include subordinate securities that are subject to the first risk of loss if any losses are realized on the underlying mortgage loans. CMBS and CMBS bonds entitle the holders thereof to receive payments that depend primarily on the cash flow from a specified pool of commercial or multifamily mortgage loans. Consequently, CMBS and CMBS bonds may be adversely affected by payment defaults, delinquencies and losses on the underlying commercial real estate loans. Furthermore, if the rental and leasing markets deteriorate, it could reduce cash flow from the loan pools underlying our CMBS and CMBS bonds investments. The CMBS and CMBS bonds market is dependent upon liquidity for refinancing and could be negatively impacted by a slowdown in the new issue CMBS and CMBS bonds market. In addition, the value of CMBS and CMBS bonds may change due to shifts in the market’s perception of issuers and regulatory or tax changes adversely affecting the mortgage securities market as a whole.

Additionally, CMBS and CMBS bonds are subject to particular risks, including lack of standardized terms and payment of all or substantially all of the principal only at maturity rather than regular amortization of principal. Additional risks may be presented by the type and use of a particular commercial property. For example, special risks are presented by hospitals, nursing homes, hospitality properties and certain other property types. Commercial property values and net operating income are subject to volatility, which may result in net operating income becoming insufficient to cover debt service on the related commercial real estate loan, particularly if the current economic environment deteriorates. The repayment of loans secured by income-producing properties is typically dependent upon the successful operation of the related real estate project rather than upon the liquidation value of the underlying real estate. Furthermore, the net operating income from and value of any commercial property are subject to various risks. The exercise of remedies and successful realization of liquidation proceeds relating to CMBS and CMBS bonds may be highly dependent upon the performance of the servicer or special servicer. Expenses of enforcing the underlying commercial real estate loans (including litigation expenses) and expenses of protecting the properties securing the commercial real estate loans may be substantial. Consequently, in the event of a default or loss on one or more commercial real estate loans contained in a securitization, we may not recover a portion or all of our investment.

We may not control the special servicing of the mortgage loans underlying the CMBS and CMBS bonds in which we invest and, in such cases, the special servicer may take actions that could adversely affect our interests.

Overall control over the special servicing of the underlying mortgage loans of the CMBS and CMBS bonds may be held by a directing certificate holder, which is appointed by the holders of the most subordinate class of such CMBS and CMBS bonds. We ordinarily do not have the right to appoint the directing certificate holder. In connection with the servicing of the specially serviced mortgage loans, the related special servicer may, at the direction of the directing certificate holder, take actions that could adversely affect our interests.

We invest in CDOs and such investments involve significant risks.

We invest in CDOs, which are multiple class securities secured by pools of assets, such as CMBS, subordinate mortgage and mezzanine loans and REIT debt. Like typical securities structures, in a CDO, the assets are pledged to a trustee for the benefit of the holders of the bonds. Like CMBS, CDO notes are affected by payments, defaults, delinquencies and losses on the underlying commercial real estate loans. CDOs often have reinvestment periods that typically last for five years during which proceeds from the sale of a collateral asset may be invested in substitute collateral. Upon termination of the reinvestment period, the static pool functions very similarly to a CMBS where repayment of principal allows for redemption of bonds sequentially. When we invest in the equity securities of a CDO, we will be entitled to all of the income generated by the CDO after the CDO pays all of the interest due on the senior securities and its expenses. However, there will be little or no income or principal available to the holders of CDO equity securities if defaults or losses on the underlying collateral exceed a certain amount. In that event, the value of our investment in any equity class of a CDO could decrease substantially. In addition, the equity securities of CDOs are generally illiquid and often must be held by a REIT and because they represent a leveraged investment in the CDO’s assets, the value of the equity securities will generally have greater fluctuations than the values of the underlying collateral.

Most of our investments are illiquid and we may not be able to vary our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions, which may result in losses to us.

Most of our investments are illiquid. As a result, our ability to sell commercial real estate debt, securities or properties in response to changes in economic and other conditions, could be limited, even at distressed prices. The Internal Revenue Code also places limits on our ability to sell properties held for fewer than two years. These considerations could make it difficult for us to dispose of any of our assets even if a disposition were in the best interests of our stockholders. As a result, our ability to vary our portfolio in response to further changes in economic and other conditions may be relatively limited, which may result in losses to us.

Some of our investments will be carried at estimated fair value as determined by us and, as a result, there may be uncertainty as to the value of these investments.

Some of our investments will be in the form of securities that are recorded at fair value but have limited liquidity or are not publicly-traded. The fair value of these securities and potentially other investments that have limited liquidity or are not publicly-traded may not be readily determinable. We estimate the fair value of these investments on a quarterly basis. Because such valuations are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on numerous estimates and assumptions, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a readily available market for these securities existed. The value of our common stock could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these investments are materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal.

Competition with third parties for originating and acquiring investments may reduce our profitability.

We have significant competition with respect to our origination and acquisition of assets with many other companies, including other REITs, insurance companies, commercial banks, private investment funds, hedge funds, specialty finance companies and other investors, many of which have greater resources than we, and may not be able to compete successfully for investments. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase. Many of our competitors are not subject to the operating constraints associated with REIT rule compliance or maintenance of an exclusion from registration under the Investment Company Act. 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 loans and investments, offer more attractive pricing or other terms and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, competition for originations of and investments in our target assets may lead to the yields of such assets decreasing, which may further limit our ability to generate satisfactory returns.

This competition may cause us to pay higher prices for investments or originate loans with more generous terms than we would otherwise agree to. If this occurs, our investors may experience a lower return on their investment.

Our due diligence may not reveal all material issues relating to our origination or acquisition of a particular investment.

Before making an investment, we assess the strength and skills of the management of the borrower or the operator of the property and other factors that we believe are material to the performance of the investment. In making the assessment and otherwise conducting customary due diligence, we rely on the resources available to us and, in some cases, an investigation by third parties. This process is particularly important with respect to newly organized or private entities because there may be little or no information publicly available about the entity. However, even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a particular investment, there can be no assurance that this diligence will uncover all material issues relating to such investment, that the information provided by the borrower is truthful or accurate, or that factors outside of our control will not later arise. If our due diligence fails to identify material issues, we have had to in the past and may in the future have to write-down or write-off assets, restructure our investment or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our shares of common stock.

We may be unable to restructure loans in a manner that we believe maximizes value, particularly if we are one of multiple creditors in large capital structures.

In order to maximize value in the current environment, we may be more likely to extend and work out a loan, rather than pursue foreclosure. However, in situations where there are multiple creditors in large capital structures, it can be particularly difficult to assess the most likely course of action that a lender group or the borrower may take and it may also be difficult to achieve consensus among the lender group as to major decisions. Consequently, there could be a wide range of potential principal recovery outcomes, the timing of which can be unpredictable, based on the strategy pursued by a lender group and/or by a borrower. These multiple creditor situations tend to be associated with larger loans. If we are one of a group of lenders, we may be a lender on a subordinated basis, and may not independently control the decision making. Consequently, we may be unable to restructure a loan in a manner that we believe would maximize value.

We may be subject to risks associated with future advance obligations, such as declining real estate values and operating performance.

Our commercial real estate debt portfolio may include loans that require us to advance future funds. Future funding obligations subject us to significant risks that the property may have declined in value, projects to be completed with the additional funds may have cost overruns and the borrower may be unable to generate enough cash flow, or sell or refinance the property, to repay our commercial real estate loan due. We could determine that we need to fund more money than we originally anticipated to maximize the value of our investment even though there is no assurance that such determination would, in fact, be the best course of action.

We may not be successful in our attempts to align the maturities of our liabilities with the maturities on our assets, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

Our general financing strategy will include the use of “match-funded” structures. This means that we will seek to align the maturities of our liabilities with the maturities on our assets in order to manage the risks of being forced to refinance our liabilities prior to the maturities of our assets. We may fail to appropriately employ match-funded structures on favorable terms, or at all, including as a result of the unavailability of CDO and CLO financing options. We may also determine not to pursue a match-funded structure with respect to a portion of our financings for a variety of reasons. If we fail to appropriately employ match-funded structures, our exposure to interest rate volatility and exposure to matching liabilities prior to the maturity of the corresponding asset may increase substantially which could harm our operating results, liquidity and financial condition.

Provision for credit losses is difficult to estimate.

Our provision for credit losses is evaluated on a quarterly basis. Our determination of provision for credit losses requires us to make certain estimates and judgments, which may be difficult to determine. Our estimates and judgments are based on a number of factors, including projected cash flows from the collateral securing our commercial real estate debt, debt structure, including the availability of reserves and recourse guarantees, likelihood of repayment in full at the maturity of a loan, potential for refinancing and expected market discount rates for varying property types, loan-to-value (“LTV”), and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. Our estimates and judgments may not be correct and, therefore, our results of operations and financial condition could be severely impacted.

Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326),” which replaced the “incurred loss” model for recognizing credit losses with an “expected loss” model referred to as the Current Expected Credit Loss model (“CECL”) became effective for us on January 1, 2020. Under the CECL model, we are required to provide allowances for credit losses on certain financial assets carried at amortized cost, such as loans held-for-investment and held-to-maturity debt securities, including related future funding commitments and accrued interest receivable. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and forward looking information through the use of projected macroeconomic scenarios over the reasonable and supportable forecasts. This measurement takes place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and updated quarterly thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model previously required under GAAP, which delayed recognition until it was probable a loss had been incurred. Accordingly, the adoption of the CECL model has materially affected how we determine our credit loss provision and required us to significantly increase our allowance and recognize provisions for credit losses earlier in the lending cycle. Moreover, the CECL model created more volatility in the level of our credit loss provisions. If we are required to materially increase our future level of credit loss allowances for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial conditions.

Any credit ratings assigned to our investments will be subject to ongoing evaluations and revisions and we cannot assure you that those ratings will not be downgraded.

Some of our investments may be rated by rating agencies. Any credit ratings on our investments are subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies, and we cannot assure you that any such ratings will not be downgraded or withdrawn by a rating agency in the future if, in its judgment, circumstances warrant. If rating agencies assign a lower-than-expected rating or reduce or withdraw, or indicate that they may reduce or withdraw, their ratings of our investments in the future, the value and liquidity of those investments could significantly decline, which would adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio.

When we acquire companies, we face risks related to integrating the acquired company in a manner that allows us to achieve the synergies and other benefits of the acquisition or do so within the anticipated time frame.

From time to time, we may acquire other companies, such as our 2021 acquisition of Capstead Mortgage Corp. Our acquisition of companies can create significant risks, including:

• issues related to the acquired business that were not identified in our diligence review prior to acquisition;
• the significant management attention and resources we would need to devote to integrating the acquired business, including any employees of the acquired company;
• costs associated with retaining key employees of the acquired business;
• legal and regulatory burdens associated with the acquired business; and
• potential stockholder dilution as a result of the consideration paid.

Risks Related to the Conduit Segment of the Business

We use warehouse facilities that may limit our ability to acquire assets, and we may incur losses if the collateral is liquidated.

We utilize warehouse facilities pursuant to which we accumulate mortgage loans in anticipation of a securitization financing, which assets are pledged as collateral for such facilities until the securitization transaction is consummated. In order to borrow funds to acquire assets under any additional warehouse facilities, we expect that our lenders thereunder would have the right to review the potential assets for which we are seeking financing. We may be unable to obtain the consent of a lender to acquire assets that we believe would be beneficial to us and we may be unable to obtain alternate financing for such assets. In addition, no assurance can be given that a securitization transaction would be consummated with respect to the assets being warehoused. If the securitization is not consummated, the lender could liquidate the warehoused collateral and we would then have to pay any amount by which the original purchase price of the collateral assets exceeds its sale price, subject to negotiated caps, if any, on our exposure. In addition, regardless of whether the securitization is consummated, if any of the warehoused collateral is sold before the consummation, we would have to bear any resulting loss on the sale. No assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain additional warehouse facilities on favorable terms, or at all.

We directly and indirectly utilize non‑recourse securitizations, and such structures expose us to risks that could result in losses to us.

We utilize non‑recourse securitizations of our investments in mortgage loans to the extent consistent with the maintenance of our REIT qualification and exemption from the Investment Company Act in order to generate cash for funding new investments and/or to leverage existing assets. In most instances, this involves us transferring our loans to a special purpose securitization entity in exchange for cash. In some sale transactions, we also retain a subordinated interest in the loans sold. The securitization of our portfolio investments might magnify our exposure to losses on those portfolio investments because the subordinated interest we retain in the loans sold would be subordinate to the senior interest in the loans sold, and we would, therefore, absorb all of the losses sustained with respect to a loan sold before the owners of the senior interest experience any losses. Moreover, we cannot be assured that we will be able to access the securitization market in the future, or be able to do so at favorable rates. The inability to consummate securitizations of our portfolio investments to finance our investments on a long‑term basis could require us to seek other forms of potentially less attractive financing or to liquidate assets at an inopportune time or price, which could adversely affect our performance and our ability to continue to grow our business.

The securitization market is subject to a regulatory environment that may affect certain aspects of these activities.

As a result of the dislocation of the credit markets in prior years, the securitization industry has become subject to additional regulation. In particular, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, various federal agencies have promulgated a rule that generally requires issuers in securitizations to retain 5% of the risk associated with the securities. While the rule as adopted generally allows the purchase of the CMBS B-Piece by a party not affiliated with the issuer to satisfy the risk retention requirement, current CMBS B-Pieces are generally not large enough to fully satisfy the 5% requirement. Accordingly, buyers of B-Pieces such as us may be required to purchase larger B-Pieces, potentially reducing returns on such investments. Furthermore, any such B-Pieces purchased by a party (such as us) unaffiliated with the issuer generally cannot be transferred for a period of five years following the closing date of the securitization or hedged against credit risk. These restrictions would reduce our liquidity and could potentially reduce our returns on such investments.

We enter into hedging transactions that could expose us to contingent liabilities in the future.

Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, part of our investment strategy involves entering into hedging transactions that require us to fund cash payments in certain circumstances (such as the early termination of the hedging instrument caused by an event of default or other early termination event, or the decision by a counterparty to request margin securities it is contractually owed under the terms of the hedging instrument). The amount due would be equal to the unrealized loss of the open swap positions with the respective counterparty and could also include other fees and charges. These economic losses will be reflected in our results of operations, and our ability to fund these obligations will depend on the liquidity of our assets and access to capital at the time, and the need to fund these obligations could adversely impact our financial condition.

Hedging against interest rate exposure may adversely affect our income, limit our gains or result in losses, which could adversely affect cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We enter into interest rate swap agreements and pursue other interest rate hedging strategies. Our hedging activity will vary in scope based on interest rate levels, the type of investments held, and other changing market conditions. Interest rate hedging may fail to protect or could 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 hedging may not correspond 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 or asset;
• our hedging opportunities may be limited by the treatment of income from hedging transactions under the rules determining REIT qualification;
• 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 transactions;
• the party owing money in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay; and
• we may purchase a hedge that turns out not to be necessary.

Any hedging activity we engage in may adversely affect our income, which could adversely affect cash available for distribution. Therefore, while we may enter into such transactions to seek to reduce interest rate risks, unanticipated changes in interest rates may result in poorer overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in a hedging strategy and price movements in the portfolio positions being hedged or liabilities being hedged may vary materially. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not be able to establish a perfect correlation between hedging instruments and the investment being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss.

Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest

The Advisor faces conflicts of interest relating to purchasing commercial real estate-related investments, and such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor, which could adversely affect our investment opportunities.

We rely on the Advisor and the executive officers and other key real estate professionals employed by our Advisor to identify suitable investment opportunities for us. The Advisor and its employees are subject to very limited restrictions on engaging in investment and investment management activities that are unrelated to us and compete with us. The Advisor currently manages other investment programs that share similar investment objectives with us and target similar investments as us, including Franklin BSP Real Estate Debt, Inc. (a non-traded REIT) and two private funds, and may in the future advise additional competing investment programs (together, the “Other Funds”). Some investment opportunities that are suitable for the Other Funds. Thus, the executive officers and real estate professionals of the Advisor could direct attractive investment opportunities to other entities or investors, including the Other Funds. In addition, we have in the past and expect in the future to engage in transactions with the Other Funds, including co-investment transactions, and these transactions may not be on terms as favorable as transactions with unaffiliated third parties. Such events could result in us investing in assets that provide less attractive returns, which may reduce our ability to make distributions. In addition, the fees paid to the Advisor by the Other Funds differ from the fees we pay pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, and these differences could create incentives for the Advisor to favor the Other Funds.

The Advisor and its employees face competing demands relating to their time, and this may cause our operating results to suffer.

The Advisor and its employees are engaged in investment and investment management activities unrelated to us, including with respect to the Other Funds. We cannot provide any assurances regarding the amount of time our Advisor and its employees will dedicate to the management of our business. Each of our officers is also an employee of our Advisor, who has now or may be expected to have significant responsibilities for the Other Funds. Consequently, we may not receive the level of support and assistance that we otherwise might receive if we were internally managed. Because these persons have competing demands on their time and resources, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time between our business and these other activities. If this occurs, the returns on our investments may suffer.

The fee structure set forth in the Advisory Agreement may not create proper incentives for the Advisor.

We pay the Advisor a base management fee regardless of our performance and an incentive fee that is based on our performance. Since the base management fee is based on total stockholder equity, the Advisor may be incentivized to focus on strategies that increase our equity even when doing so will not optimize the returns for our stockholders. The incentive fee may create an incentive for our Advisor to invest in assets with higher yield potential, which are generally riskier or more speculative, or sell an asset prematurely for a gain, in an effort to increase our short-term net income and thereby increase the incentive fees to which it is entitled.

Our Advisor manages our portfolio pursuant to broad investment guidelines and is not required to seek the approval of our board of directors for each investment, financing, asset allocation or hedging decision made by it, which may result in our making riskier loans and other investments and which could materially and adversely affect us.

Our Advisor is authorized to follow broad investment guidelines that provide it with substantial discretion regarding investment, financing, asset allocation and hedging decisions. Our board of directors will periodically review our investment guidelines and our portfolio but will not, and will not be required to, review and approve in advance all of our proposed loans and other investments or our Advisor’s financing, asset allocation or hedging decisions. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, our directors may rely primarily on information provided, or recommendations made, to them by our Advisor or its affiliates. Subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our exclusion or exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act, our Advisor has significant latitude within the broad investment guidelines in determining the types of loans and other investments it makes for us, and how such loans and other investments are financed or hedged, which could result in investment returns that are substantially below expectations or losses, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Our Advisor maintains a contractual as opposed to a fiduciary relationship with us. Our Advisor’s liability is limited under our Advisory Agreement, and we have agreed to indemnify our Advisor against certain liabilities.

Pursuant to our Advisory Agreement, our Advisor assumes no responsibility to us other than to render the services called for thereunder in good faith and will not be responsible for any action of our board of directors in following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations, including as set forth in our investment guidelines. Our Advisor maintains a contractual as opposed to a fiduciary relationship with us. Under the terms of our Advisory Agreement, our Advisor and its affiliates and the officers, directors, equity holders, members, partners, stockholders, other equity holders and employees of our Advisor, will not be liable to us, any subsidiary of ours, our board of directors, our stockholders or any of our subsidiaries’ stockholders, members or partners for acts or omissions performed in accordance with and pursuant to our Advisory Agreement, except by reason of fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement of funds of the Company or acts or omissions constituting bad faith, willful misfeasance, intentional misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties under our Advisory Agreement. We have agreed to indemnify our Advisor, its affiliates and the officers, directors, equity holders, members, partners, stockholders, other equity holders and employees of our Advisor and its affiliates from any and all liability, claims, damages or losses arising in the performance of their duties, and related expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of such party performed in good faith under our Advisory Agreement and not constituting bad faith, fraud, willful misfeasance, intentional misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of duties of such party under our Advisory Agreement. As a result, we could experience poor performance or losses for which our Advisor would not be liable.

Termination of our Advisory Agreement would be difficult and costly.

The circumstances under which we can terminate our Advisory Agreement for cause are limited and do not include performance. Termination of our Advisory Agreement without cause would be difficult and costly. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated each year without cause upon the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our independent directors, based upon a determination that (i) our Advisor’s performance is unsatisfactory and materially detrimental to us or (ii) the base management fee and annual incentive fee payable to our Advisor are not fair (provided that in this instance, our Advisor will be afforded the opportunity to renegotiate the management fee and incentive fees prior to termination). We are required to provide our Advisor with 180 days prior notice of any such termination. Additionally, upon such a termination, or if we materially breach the Advisory Agreement and our Advisor terminates our Advisory Agreement, the Advisory Agreement provides that we will pay our Advisor a termination fee equal to three times the sum of the average annual base management fee and the average annual incentive fee paid or payable to the Advisor during the 24-month period immediately preceding the most recently completed calendar quarter prior to the termination. These provisions increase the cost to us of terminating the Advisory Agreement and adversely affect our ability to terminate our Advisor without cause.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

The limit on the number of shares a person may own may discourage a takeover that could otherwise result in a premium price to our stockholders.

The Company's charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes the board of directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by the board of directors, no person or entity may own more than 7.9% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of stock or more than 7.9% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of any class or series of shares of our stock determined after applying certain rules of attribution. This restriction may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock.

Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit a change in control of our Company.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”) may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change in control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:

• “business combination” provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between us and an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of our then outstanding voting power of our shares or an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of our then outstanding voting shares) or an affiliate thereof for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, and thereafter imposes special appraisal rights and special stockholder voting requirements on these combinations; and
• “control share” provisions that provide that “control shares” of our company (defined as shares which, when aggregated with other shares controlled by the 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.

Pursuant to the MGCL, our board of directors has exempted any business combination involving our Advisor or any affiliate of our Advisor. Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to business combinations between us and our Advisor or any affiliate of our Advisor.

In addition, the Company's bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share provisions any and all acquisitions of our stock by any person. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.

In addition, the “unsolicited takeover” provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permit the Board, without shareholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in the charter or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, including adopting a classified board or increasing the vote required to remove a director. Such takeover defenses 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 our common stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-current market price.

Risks Related to Taxation

Our failure to qualify as a REIT could have significant adverse consequences to us and the value of our common stock.

We believe that we have qualified as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. We intend to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT, but we cannot assure stockholders that we qualify as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions for which only a limited number of judicial and administrative interpretations exist. Moreover, new tax legislation, administrative guidance or court decisions, in each instance potentially with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. Even an inadvertent or technical mistake could jeopardize our REIT status.

Our qualification as a REIT depends on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis:

• Our compliance depends upon the characterization of our assets and income for REIT purposes, as well as the relative values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination and for which we typically do not obtain independent appraisals. Moreover, we invest in certain assets with respect to which the rules applicable to REITs may be particularly difficult to interpret or to apply, including the rules applicable to financing arrangements that are structured as sale and repurchase agreements; mezzanine loans; and investments in real estate mortgage loans that are acquired at a discount, subject to work-outs or modifications, or reasonably expected to be in default at the time of acquisition. If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) challenged our treatment of investments for purposes of the REIT asset and income tests, and if such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT.
• The fact that we own direct or indirect interests in an entity that will elect to be taxed as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws (a “Subsidiary REIT”), further complicates the application of the REIT requirements for us. The Subsidiary REIT is subject to the various REIT qualification requirements that are applicable to us and certain other requirements. If the Subsidiary REIT were to fail to qualify as a REIT, then (i) it would become subject to regular U.S. federal 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 relief provisions.

If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and are unable to avail ourselves of certain savings provisions set forth in the Internal Revenue Code, we would be subject to U.S federal and applicable state and local income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. In addition, we would possibly also be subject to certain taxes that are applicable to non-REIT corporations, including the nondeductible 1% excise tax on certain stock repurchases. Losing our REIT status would reduce our net income available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability. In addition, distributions to stockholders would no longer qualify for the dividends-paid deduction, and we would no longer be required to make distributions. If this occurs, we might be required to borrow or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable tax. We would not be able to elect to be taxed as a REIT for four years following the year we first failed to qualify unless the IRS were to grant us relief under certain statutory provisions.

The failure of a mezzanine loan to qualify as a real estate asset could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.

The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2003-65, which provides a safe harbor pursuant to which a mezzanine loan, if it meets certain requirements, will be treated by the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, and interest derived from such loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test. Although the Revenue Procedure provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We may originate or acquire mezzanine loans that do not satisfy all of the requirements for reliance on the safe harbor set forth in the Revenue Procedure, in which case, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the tax treatment of such loans. If such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may be subject to tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow for distribution to our stockholders.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may be subject to some U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income or property. For example:

• In order to qualify as a REIT, we must distribute annually at least 90% of our “REIT taxable income” (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to our stockholders. To the extent that we satisfy the distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed income. These requirements could cause us to distribute amounts that otherwise would be spent on investments in real estate assets, and it is possible that we might be required to borrow funds or sell assets to fund these distributions.
• We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions we pay in any calendar year are less than the sum of (i) 85% of our ordinary income, (ii) 95% of our capital gain net income and (iii) 100% of our undistributed income from prior years.
• If we have net income from the sale of foreclosure property that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business or other non-qualifying income from foreclosure property, we must pay a tax on that income at the highest corporate income tax rate.
• If we sell an asset, other than a foreclosure property, that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, our gain would be subject to the 100% “prohibited transaction” tax. We might be subject to this tax if we were to dispose of or securitize loans in a manner that is treated as a sale of loans for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is subject to the prohibited transaction tax.
• Any taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”) of ours will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on its taxable income, and non-arm’s length transactions between us and any TRS could be subject to a 100% tax.
• We could, in certain circumstances, be required to pay an excise or penalty tax (which could be significant in amount) in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Internal Revenue Code to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

The failure of assets subject to repurchase agreements to qualify as real estate assets could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.

We are party to certain financing arrangements, and may in the future enter into additional financing arrangements, that are structured as sale and repurchase agreements pursuant to which we would nominally sell certain of our assets to a counterparty and simultaneously enter into an agreement to repurchase these assets at a later date in exchange for a purchase price. Economically, these agreements are financings which are secured by the assets sold pursuant thereto. We believe that we would be treated for REIT asset and income test purposes as the owner of the assets that are the subject of any such sale and repurchase agreement 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 could assert that we did not own the assets during the term of the sale and repurchase agreement, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

The “taxable mortgage pool” rules may increase the taxes that we or our stockholders incur, and may limit the manner in which we effect future securitizations.

Securitizations in the form of bonds or notes secured principally by mortgage loans generally result in the creation of taxable mortgage pools (“TMPs”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The debt securities issued by TMPs are sometimes referred to as “collateralized mortgage obligations” (“CMOs”). We have issued CMOs through TMPs. Unless a TMP is wholly-owned by a REIT, it is subject to taxation as a corporation. However, so long as a REIT owns 100% of the equity interests in a TMP, the TMP will not be taxed as a corporation. Instead, certain categories of the REIT’s stockholders, such as foreign stockholders eligible for treaty or sovereign benefits, stockholders with net operating losses, and generally tax-exempt stockholders that are subject to unrelated business income tax, may be subject to taxation, or to increased taxes, on any portion, known as “excess inclusions,” of their dividend income from the REIT that is attributable to the TMP, but only to the extent that the REIT actually distributes “excess inclusions” to them. We intend not to distribute “excess inclusions,” but to pay the tax on “excess inclusions” ourselves. Notwithstanding our intention to try to avoid distributions to our stockholders of “excess inclusions,” it is possible that some portion of our dividends to our stockholders may be so characterized.

In order to better control, and to attempt to avoid, the distribution of “excess inclusions” to our stockholders, as of January 1, 2022, our TMPs are wholly-owned by a Subsidiary REIT. Because our TMPs must at all times be owned by a REIT, we are restricted from selling equity interests in them, or selling any notes or bonds issued by them that might be considered to be equity for tax purposes, to other investors if doing so would subject them to taxation. These restrictions limit the liquidity of our investment in our TMPs and may prevent us from incurring greater leverage on that investment in order to maximize our returns from it.

The prohibited transactions tax may 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 assets, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to the prohibited transaction tax if we were to dispose of, modify or securitize loans in a manner that is treated as a sale of the loans for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, in order to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales or modifications of loans at the REIT level and may limit the structures we utilize for our securitization transactions, even though the sales, modifications or structures might otherwise be beneficial to us. Additionally, we may be subject to the prohibited transaction tax upon a disposition of real property. Although a safe-harbor exception to prohibited transaction treatment is available, there can be no assurance that we can comply with the safe harbor or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

It may be possible to reduce the impact of the prohibited transaction tax by conducting certain activities through a TRS. However, to the extent that we engage in such activities through a TRS, the income associated with such activities may be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively and may cause us to incur tax liabilities.

The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code may limit our ability to effectively hedge our assets and operations. Under the REIT provisions, any income that we generate from hedging transactions will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if the instrument hedges: (i) interest rate risk on liabilities incurred to carry or acquire real estate assets; or (ii) risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the REIT 75% or 95% gross income tests, and such instrument is properly identified under applicable U.S. Department of Treasury regulations (“Treasury Regulations”). Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. As a result, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous, which could result in greater risks associated with interest rate or other changes than we would otherwise incur.

Liquidation of assets may jeopardize our REIT qualification.

To qualify as a REIT, we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of income. If we are compelled to liquidate our investments to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, ultimately jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% prohibited transaction tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as dealer property or inventory.

Modification of the terms of our debt investments and mortgage loans underlying our CMBS in conjunction with reductions in the value of the real property securing such loans could cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.

Our debt and securities investments may be materially affected by changes in the real estate market and economy in general. As a result, many of the terms of our debt and the mortgage loans underlying our securities may be modified to avoid taking title to a property. Under the Internal Revenue Code, if the terms of a loan are modified in a manner constituting a “significant modification,” such modification triggers a deemed exchange of the original loan for the modified loan. In general, under applicable Treasury Regulations if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan determined as of the date we agreed to acquire the loan or the date we significantly modified the loan, a portion of the interest income from such loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT 95% gross income test. Although the law is not entirely clear, a portion of the loan will likely be a non-qualifying asset for purposes of the REIT 75% asset test. The non-qualifying portion of such a loan would be subject to, among other requirements, the requirement that a REIT not hold securities possessing more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer (“10% Value Test”).

IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor pursuant to which we will not be required to redetermine the fair market value of real property securing a loan for purposes of the gross income and asset tests discussed above in connection with a loan modification that is: (i) occasioned by a borrower default; or (ii) made at a time when we reasonably believe that the modification to the loan will substantially reduce a significant risk of default on the original loan. No assurance can be provided that all of our loan modifications have or will qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51. To the extent we significantly modify loans in a manner that does not qualify for that safe harbor, we will be required to redetermine the value of the real property securing the loan at the time it was significantly modified. In determining the value of the real property securing such a loan, we generally will not obtain third-party appraisals, but rather will rely on internal valuations. No assurance can be provided that the IRS will not successfully challenge our internal valuations. If the terms of our debt investments and the mortgage loans underlying our CMBS are “significantly modified” in a manner that does not qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51 and the fair market value of the real property securing such loans has decreased significantly, we could fail the REIT 75% gross income test, the 75% asset test and/or the 10% Value Test. Unless we qualified for relief under certain Internal Revenue Code cure provisions, such failures could cause us to fail to continue to qualify as a REIT.

Changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws, including the enactment of certain tax reform measures, could have a material and adverse effect on us.

U.S. federal income tax laws governing REITs and other corporations and the administrative interpretations of those laws may be amended at any time, potentially with retroactive effect. Changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws, including the possibility of major tax legislation, could have a material and adverse effect on us or our stockholders. We cannot predict whether, when, to what extent or with what effective dates new U.S. federal tax laws, regulations, interpretations or rulings will be issued. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the effect of potential changes to the U.S. federal tax laws on an investment in our stock.

Risks Related to an Investment in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.

Public health crises have adversely impacted, and may in the future adversely impact, our business and the business of many of our borrowers.

Public health crises can have repercussions across domestic and global economies and financial markets. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many governmental authorities imposing significant restrictions on businesses and individuals that triggered economic consequences, including high unemployment, then high inflation, that resulted in challenging operating conditions for many businesses, particularly in the retail (including restaurants), office and hospitality sectors. These actions directly and indirectly adversely affected the financing markets and resulted in margin calls from our lenders, which we satisfied.

The extent to which pandemics and similar health crises impact our or our borrowers’ operations will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the scope, severity and duration of the crises, treatment developments and government responses to the events. The inability of our borrowers to meet their loan obligations and/or borrowers filing for bankruptcy protection as a result of these events would reduce our cash flows, which would impact our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.

We may be unable to maintain or increase cash distributions over time, or may decide to reduce the amount of distributions for business reasons.

There are many factors that can affect the amount and timing of cash distributions to stockholders. The amount of cash available for distributions is affected by many factors, such as the cash provided by the Company's investments and obligations to repay indebtedness as well as many other variables. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to pay or maintain the current level of distributions or that distributions will increase over time. In certain prior periods, quarterly distributions have been in excess of our quarterly earnings. Distributions in excess of earnings decrease the book value per share of common stock. The Company cannot give any assurance that returns from the investments will be sufficient to maintain or increase cash available for distributions to stockholders. Actual results may differ significantly from the assumptions used by the board of directors in establishing the distribution rate to stockholders. The Company may not have sufficient cash from operations to make a distribution required to qualify for or maintain our REIT status, which may materially adversely affect the value of our securities.

Our business could suffer in the event our Advisor or any other party that provides us with services essential to our operations experiences system failures or cyber-incidents or a deficiency in cybersecurity.

Despite system redundancy, the implementation of security measures and the existence of a disaster recovery plan for the internal information technology systems of our Advisor and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations, these systems are vulnerable to damage from any number of sources, including computer viruses, unauthorized access, energy blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication failures. Any system failure or accident that causes interruptions in our operations could result in a material disruption to our business.

As reliance on technology in our industry has increased, so have the risks posed to the systems of our Advisor and other parties that provide us or the Advisor with services essential to our operations, both internal and outsourced. In addition, the risk of a cyber-incident, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted attacks and intrusions evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected.

The remediation costs and lost revenues experienced by a victim of a cyber-incident may be significant and significant resources may be required to repair system damage, protect against the threat of future security breaches or to alleviate problems, including reputational harm, loss of revenues and litigation, caused by any breaches.

Although the Advisor and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations intend to continue to implement industry-standard security measures, there can be no assurance that those measures will be sufficient. We and the Advisor continue to face ongoing and increasing cybersecurity risks which may materially affect us in the future and there can be no assurance that our or the Advisor’s cybersecurity efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted cybersecurity incidents or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Any material adverse effect experienced by the Advisor and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations could, in turn, have an adverse impact on us.

Further information relating to cybersecurity risk management is discussed in Item 1C. “Cybersecurity” in this report.

We are subject to risks from natural disasters such as earthquakes and severe weather, including as the result of global climate changes, which may result in damage to the properties securing our loans.

Natural disasters and severe weather such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods may result in significant damage to the properties securing our loans or in which we invest. In addition, our investments may be exposed to new or increased risks and liabilities associated with global climate change, such as increased frequency or intensity of adverse weather and natural disasters, which could negatively impact our and our borrowers’ businesses and the value of the properties securing our loans or in which we invest. The extent of our or our borrowers' casualty losses and loss in operating income in connection with such events is a function of the severity of the event and the total amount of exposure in the affected area. While the geographic distribution of our portfolio somewhat limits our physical climate risk, some physical risk is inherent in the properties of our borrowers, particularly in certain borrowers’ locations and in the unknown potential for extreme weather or other events that could occur related to climate change. We may be materially and adversely affected by our exposure to losses arising from natural disasters or severe weather, including those associated with global climate change.

In addition, global climate change concerns could result in additional legislation and regulatory requirements, including those associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy, which could increase expenses or otherwise adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, or the business, results of operations and financial condition of our borrowers.

Management and Board Oversight

Our Board oversees risk management for the Company including through its approval of the investment policy and other policies of the Company and its oversight of the Advisor. For certain risks, the Board has delegated oversight responsibilities to committees of the Board. For example, the Compensation Committee oversees and reports to the Board on the assessment and mitigation of risks associated with the Company’s and the Advisor’s compensation policies and practices, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists our Board with assessing risks associated with conflicts of interest and with ESG matters. Cybersecurity risk management is integrated into this broader risk management framework. The Board has delegated to the Audit Committee oversight of management’s programs and policies to identify, assess, manage, mitigate and monitor significant business risks of the Company, including privacy, information technology and cybersecurity risks.

Information Technology and Cybersecurity Risks

We have no employees and rely on the Advisor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, to manage our day-to-day operations pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Therefore, we rely heavily on Franklin Templeton’s information systems and their program for defending against and responding to cybersecurity threats and incidents. Franklin Templeton maintains a robust cybersecurity defense program, including a dedicated cybersecurity team led by its Chief Security Officer (“CISO”). The CISO, who reports directly to the Franklin Templeton Executive Vice President, Chief Risk and Transformation Officer, has 30 years of experience in the information technology and cybersecurity field and has been at Franklin Templeton for 13 years. The CISO provides regular briefings for our senior management team on cybersecurity matters, including threats, events, and program enhancements.

In the event of an incident which jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the information technology systems the Advisor uses to provide services to us pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, Franklin Templeton’s cybersecurity team utilizes a regularly updated cybersecurity incident response plan that was developed based on, and is periodically benchmarked to, applicable third-party cybersecurity standards and frameworks. Pursuant to that plan and its escalation protocols, designated personnel are responsible for assessing the severity of the incident and associated threat, containing the threat, remediating the threat, including recovery of data and access to systems, analyzing the reporting obligations associated with the incident, and performing post-incident analysis and program improvements. While the particular personnel assigned to an incident response team will depend on the particular facts and circumstances, the response team is led by the CISO or his delegee. In addition, the Audit Committee approved a Company policy that supplements the Franklin Templeton incident response plan with respect to cybersecurity incidents that have impacted or are expected to impact the Company, including by impacting the Advisor’s ability to provide services to the Company pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Pursuant to this policy the Advisor and Franklin Templeton are required to notify and brief Company senior management and the Audit Committee with respect to certain matters related to applicable cybersecurity incidents. The policy also designates responsibility to specified members of our senior management for Company disclosure determinations related to the incident.

The Audit Committee oversees, on behalf of the Board, the Company’s privacy, information technology and security and cybersecurity risk exposures, including (i) the potential impact of those exposures on the Company’s business, financial results, operations and reputation, (ii) the programs and steps implemented by management to monitor and mitigate any exposures, (iii) the Company’s information governance and information security policies and programs, and (iv) major legislative and regulatory developments that could materially impact the Company’s privacy, data security and cybersecurity risk exposure.

Some members of the Audit Committee have completed certifications in cybersecurity, including one from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) in Cyber-Risk Oversight. On a quarterly basis, the CISO or its delegee report to the Board or Audit Committee on information technology and cybersecurity matters, including a detailed threat assessment relating to information technology risks.

Processes for Assessing, Identifying and Managing Material Risks from Cybersecurity Threats

The Franklin Templeton cybersecurity program focuses on (1) preventing and preparing for cybersecurity incidents, (2) detecting and analyzing cybersecurity incidents, and (3) containing, eradicating, recovering from and reporting cybersecurity events. The Company has a policy that supplements the Franklin Templeton cybersecurity incident response plan and addresses reporting and disclosure considerations related to a cybersecurity incident.

Prevention and Preparation

Franklin Templeton undertakes regular internal and external security audits and vulnerability assessments to reduce the risk of a cybersecurity incident and they implement business continuity, contingency and recovery plans to mitigate the impact of an incident. As part of these efforts, Franklin Templeton periodically engages consultants to conduct external reviews of its vulnerabilities, including penetration testing and compromise assessments. Franklin Templeton employs identity and access management including broad adoption of multifactor authentication, geo-location blocking, behavior analytics and controls aligned to a zero trust model.

Franklin Templeton and the Advisor recognize that threat actors frequently target employees to gain unauthorized access to information systems. Therefore, a key element of their prevention efforts is employee training on their data privacy and cyber security procedures. For example, new hires receive mandatory privacy and information security training. In addition, current employees of the Advisor must complete mandatory annual cybersecurity and data trainings, which are supplemented by regular phishing and other cyber-related awareness activities and trainings that we conduct throughout the year.

We recognize that third parties that provide information systems used by the Advisor to provide services to the Company can be subject to cybersecurity incidents that could impact the Company. To mitigate third party risk, Franklin Templeton requires third party vendors to comply with our confidentiality, security, and privacy requirements. Third-party IT vendors are also subject to additional diligence such as questionnaires and inquiries.

As discussed above, to support its preparedness Franklin Templeton has an incident response plan that it periodically updates. In addition, Franklin Templeton performs regularly scheduled tabletop exercises and periodic drills at least once a year to test its incident response procedures, identify improvement opportunities and exercise team preparedness. Franklin Templeton also maintains cybersecurity insurance providing coverage for certain costs related to security failures and specified cybersecurity-related incidents that interrupt our network or networks of our vendors, in all cases up to specified limits and subject to certain exclusions.

Detection and Analysis

Cybersecurity incidents may be detected through a variety of means, which may include, but are not limited to, automated event-detection notifications or similar technologies which are monitored by the Franklin Templeton cyber defense team, notifications from employees, borrowers or service providers, and notifications from third party information technology system providers. Franklin Templeton also has a threat intelligence program that performs proactive analyses leveraging internal, government and third party provided intelligence to identify and mitigate risks to the firm. Once a potential cybersecurity incident is identified, including a third party cybersecurity event, the incident response team designated pursuant to the Franklin Templeton incident response plan follows the procedures set forth in the plan to investigate the potential incident, including determining the nature of the event and assessing the severity of the event..

Containment, Eradication, Recovery, and Reporting

In the event of a cybersecurity incident, the Franklin Templeton incident response team is responsible for deciding on a containment strategy to respond to the cybersecurity incident consistent with the procedures in the incident response plan.

Once a cybersecurity incident is contained the focus shifts to remediation. Eradication and recovery activities depend on the nature of the cybersecurity incident and may include rebuilding systems and/or hosts, replacing compromised files with clean versions or validation of files or data that may have been affected.

Franklin Templeton has relationships with a number of third party service providers to assist with cybersecurity containment and remediation efforts.

Following the conclusion of an incident, the Franklin Templeton incident response team will generally reassess the effectiveness of the cybersecurity program and incident response plan, identify potential adjustments as appropriate and report to our senior management and Audit Committee on these matters.

Cybersecurity Risks

As of December 31, 2024, we are not aware of any instances of material cybersecurity incidents that impacted the Company in the last three years. We and our Advisor routinely face risks of potential incidents, whether through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, ransomware and other forms of malware, computer viruses, attachment to emails, phishing attempts, extortion or other scams; however, we have been able to prevent or sufficiently mitigate harm from such risks. See “Item 1A–Risk Factors–Our business could suffer in the event our Advisor or any other party that provides us with services essential to our operations experiences system failures or cyber-incidents or a deficiency in cybersecurity.”

Our headquarters are located in a leased space at 1 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010, which were recently relocated from a different leased space at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 32A, New York, New York 10105.

The Company, through foreclosure, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or purchase, possesses certain real estate owned ("REO") as long-lived assets held for investment or as long-lived assets held for sale. See "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional disclosures on the classification of these assets and "Note 5. Real Estate Owned" for a summary of the Company's real estate owned, held for investment assets as of December 31, 2024.

Please refer to “Litigation and Regulatory Matters” in "Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies" to the consolidated financial statements included in this report. The Company believes that these proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial condition, operating results or cash flows.

Loan Fraud Lawsuit

The Company originated a loan in April 2022 secured by a portfolio of 24 properties net leased to Walgreens (the “Collateral Properties”). As described in more detail in Part I, Item 3, "Legal Proceedings" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the sponsor’s fraud and default under the loan the Company foreclosed on all of the Collateral Properties in 2022 and 2023. The Company has sold the majority of the Collateral Properties, continues to market the remainder for sale, and continues to actively pursue its civil remedies. Note that the collectability, if any, of legal judgments we have achieved to date and that we may achieve in the future is not currently determinable.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. the notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As used herein, the terms "the Company," "we," "our" and "us" refer to Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation and, as required by context, to Benefit Street Partners Realty Operating Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, which we refer to as the "OP," and to its subsidiaries. We are externally managed by Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. (our "Advisor").

This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting the Company’s current expectations, estimates and assumptions concerning events and financial trends that may affect our future operating results or financial position. Actual results and timing of events may differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.”

Overview

The Company is a Maryland corporation and has made tax elections to be treated as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") for U.S. federal income tax purposes since 2013. The Company, through one or more subsidiaries which are each treated as a TRS, is indirectly subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes. We commenced business in May 2013. We primarily originate, acquire and manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments secured by properties located within and outside of the United States. Substantially all of our business is conducted through the OP, a Delaware limited partnership. We are the sole general partner and directly or indirectly hold all of the units of limited partner interests in the OP.

The Company has no employees. We are managed by our Advisor pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Our Advisor manages our affairs on a day-to-day basis. The Advisor receives compensation and fees for services related to the investment and management of our assets and our operations.

The Advisor, an SEC-registered investment adviser, is a credit-focused alternative asset management firm. The Advisor manages funds for institutions and high-net-worth investors across various credit funds and complementary strategies including high yield, levered loans, private / opportunistic debt, liquid credit, structured credit and commercial real estate debt. These strategies complement each other as they all leverage the sourcing, analytical, compliance, and operational capabilities that encompass the Advisor’s robust platform. The Advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., which together with its various subsidiaries operates as "Franklin Templeton".

The Company invests in commercial real estate debt investments, which may include first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. The Company also originates conduit loans which the Company intends to sell through its TRS into CMBS securitization transactions. Historically this business has focused primarily on CMBS, CMBS bonds, CDOs and other securities. The Company also owns real estate that was either acquired by the Company through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or that was purchased for investment.

Book Value Per Share

The following table calculates the Company's book value per share as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):

25

The following table calculates the Company's fully-converted book value per share as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):

(1) Fully-converted book value per share reflects full conversion of our outstanding series of convertible preferred stock and vesting of our outstanding equity compensation awards.

(2) Excluding the amounts for accumulated depreciation and amortization of real property of $13.8 million and $9.4 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, would result in a fully-converted book value per share of $15.35 and $15.88 as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), which requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Critical accounting estimates are those that require the application of management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments on matters that are inherently uncertain and that may change in subsequent periods. In preparing the financial statements, management has made estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. In preparing the financial statements, management has utilized available information, including our past history, industry standards and the current economic environment, among other factors, in forming its estimates and judgments, giving due consideration to materiality. Actual results may differ from these estimates. In addition, other companies may utilize different estimates, which may impact the comparability of our results of operations to those of companies in similar businesses.

Set forth below is a summary of the critical accounting estimates that management believes are important to the preparation of our financial statements and require complex management judgment. The Company’s significant accounting policies, including recently issued accounting pronouncements, are more fully described in Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Credit Losses - Estimating Credit Losses

General allowance for credit losses

The general allowance for credit losses for the Company’s financial instruments carried at amortized cost and off-balance sheet credit exposures, such as loans held for investment and unfunded loan commitments, represents a lifetime estimate of expected credit losses. Factors considered by the Company when determining the general allowance for credit losses reserve include loan-specific characteristics such as LTV ratio, vintage year, loan term, property type, occupancy and geographic location, financial performance of the borrower, expected payments of principal and interest, as well as internal or external information relating to past events, current conditions and forward looking information through the use of projected macroeconomic scenarios over the reasonable and supportable forecasts.

The general allowance for credit losses is measured on a collective (pool) basis when similar risk characteristics exist for multiple financial instruments. If similar risk characteristics do not exist, the Company measures the general allowance for credit losses on an individual instrument basis. The determination of whether a particular financial instrument should be included in a pool can change over time. If a financial asset’s risk characteristics change, the Company evaluates whether it is appropriate to continue to keep the financial instrument in its existing pool or evaluate it individually.

In measuring the general allowance for credit losses for financial instruments, such as loans held for investment and unfunded loan commitments that share similar risk characteristics, the Company primarily applies a probability of default (“PD”)/loss given default (“LGD”) model for instruments that are collectively assessed, whereby the provision for credit losses is calculated as the product of PD, LGD and exposure at default (“EAD”). The Company’s model to determine the general allowance for credit losses principally utilizes historical loss rates derived from a commercial mortgage backed securities database with historical losses from 2002 to 2021 provided by a reputable third party, forecasting the loss parameters based on a projected macroeconomic scenario using a probability-based statistical approach over a reasonable and supportable forecast period of twelve months, followed by an immediate reversion to average historical losses.

Specific Allowance for credit losses

For financial instruments where the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty based on the Company’s assessment at the reporting date and the repayment is expected to be provided substantially through the operation or sale of the collateral, the Company may elect to use as a practical expedient the fair value of the collateral at the reporting date when determining the specific allowance for credit losses.

For loans held for investment which the Company identifies reasonable doubt as to whether the collection of contractual components can be satisfied, a loan specific allowance for credit losses analysis is performed. Determining whether a specific allowance for credit losses for a loan is required entails significant judgment from management and is based on several factors including (i) the underlying collateral performance, (ii) discussions with the borrower, (iii) borrower events of default, and (iv) other facts that impact the borrower’s ability to pay the contractual amounts due under the terms of the loan. If a loan is determined to have a specific allowance for credit losses, the specific allowance for credit losses is recorded as a component of our Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") reserve by applying the practical expedient for collateral dependent loans. The CECL reserve is assessed on an individual basis for such loans by comparing the estimated fair value of the underlying collateral, less costs to sell, to the book value of the respective loan. The estimated fair value of underlying collateral requires judgments, which include assumptions regarding capitalization rates, discount rates, leasing, creditworthiness of major tenants, occupancy rates, availability and cost of financing, exit plans, loan sponsorship, actions of other lenders, and other factors deemed relevant by the Company. Actual losses, if any, could ultimately differ materially from these estimates. The Company only expects to write-off specific provisions if and when such amounts are deemed non-recoverable. Non-recoverability is generally determined at the time a loan is settled, or in the case of foreclosure, when the underlying asset is sold. Non-recoverability may also be concluded if, in the Company's determination, it is deemed certain that all amounts due will not be collected. If a loan is determined to be impaired based on the above considerations, management records a write-off through a charge to the allowance for credit losses and the respective loan balance.

Risk Rating

In developing the provision for credit losses for its loans held for investment, the Company performs a comprehensive analysis of its loan portfolio and assigns risk ratings to loans that incorporate management's current judgments about their credit quality based on all known and relevant internal and external factors that may affect collectability, using similar factors as those in developing the provision for credit losses. This methodology results in loans being segmented by risk classification into risk rating categories that are associated with estimated probabilities of default and principal loss. Risk rating categories range from "1" to "5" with "1" representing the lowest risk of loss and "5" representing the highest risk of loss with the ratings updated quarterly.

The Company designates loans as non-performing when (i) full payment of principal and coupon interest components become 90-days past due ("non-accrual status"); or (ii) the Company has reasonable doubt as to whether the collection of contractual components can be satisfied ("cost recovery status"). When a loan is designated as non-performing and placed on non-accrual status, interest is only recognized as income when payment has been received. Loans designated as non-performing and placed on non-accrual status are removed from their non-performing designation when collection of principal and coupon interest components have been satisfied. When a loan is designated as non-performing and placed on cost recovery status, the cost-recovery method is applied to which receipt of principal or coupon interest is recorded as a reduction to the amortized cost until collection of all contractual components are reasonably assured.

Real Estate Owned - Estimating Fair Value and Holding Period

Real estate owned assets, held for investment are carried at their estimated fair value at acquisition and presented net of accumulated depreciation and impairment charges. The Company allocates the purchase price of acquired real estate assets based on the fair value of the acquired land, building, furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Real estate owned assets, held for investment are depreciated using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of up to 40 years for buildings and improvements and up to 15 years for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Renovations and/or replacements that improve or extend the life of the real estate owned assets are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Real estate owned revenue is recognized when the Company satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to a customer. The Company is considered to have satisfied all performance obligation at a point in time.

Real estate owned assets that are probable to be sold within one year are reported as held for sale. Real estate owned assets classified as held for sale are measured at the lower of its carrying value or estimated fair value less cost to sell. Real estate owned assets are not depreciated or amortized while classified as held for sale. Interest and other expenses attributable to the liabilities of a disposal group classified as held for sale continue to be accrued. Upon the disposition of a real estate owned asset, the Company calculates realized gains and losses as net proceeds received less the carrying value of the real estate owned asset. Net proceeds received are net of direct selling costs associated with the disposition of the real estate owned asset.

Real Estate Securities - Estimating Fair Value

On the acquisition date, all of our real estate securities will be classified as available for sale ("AFS") and will be carried at fair value, with any unrealized gains or losses reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income or loss. However, we may elect to transfer these assets to trading securities, and as a result, any unrealized gains or losses on such real estate securities will be recorded as unrealized gains or losses on investments in the consolidated statements of operations. Related discounts, premiums, and acquisition expenses on investments are amortized over the life of the investment using the effective interest method. Amortization is reflected as an adjustment to Interest income in the consolidated statements of operations.

Credit Impairment Analysis of Real Estate Securities

Real estate securities for which the fair value option has not been elected will be periodically evaluated for credit impairment. AFS real estate securities which have experienced a decline in the fair value below their amortized cost basis (i.e., impairment) are evaluated each reporting period to determine whether the decline in fair value is due to credit-related factors. Any impairment that is not credit-related is recognized in other comprehensive income, while credit-related impairment is recognized as an allowance in the consolidated balance sheets with a corresponding adjustment in the consolidated statements of operations. If the Company intends to sell an impaired real estate security or more likely than not will be required to sell such a security before recovering its amortized cost basis, the entire impairment amount is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations with a corresponding adjustment to the security’s amortized cost basis.

The Company analyzes the AFS security portfolio on a periodic basis for credit losses at the individual security level using the same criteria described above for those amortized cost financial assets subject to an allowance for credit losses including but not limited to; performance of the underlying assets in the security, borrower financial resources and investment in collateral, collateral type, credit ratings, project economics and geographic location as well as national and regional economic factors.

The non-credit loss component of the unrealized loss within the Company’s AFS portfolio is recognized as an adjustment to the individual security’s asset balance with an offsetting entry to Accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss) in the consolidated balance sheets.

Real estate securities for which the fair value option has been elected are not evaluated for other-than-temporary impairment as changes in fair value are recorded in the consolidated statement of operations.

Results of Operations

The Company conducts its business through the following segments:

• The real estate debt business focuses on originating, acquiring and asset managing commercial real estate debt investments, including first mortgages, subordinate mortgages, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans.
• The real estate securities business focuses on investing in and asset managing real estate securities. Historically this business has focused primarily on CMBS, CMBS bonds, CDO notes, and other securities.
• The commercial real estate conduit business operated through the Company's TRS, which is focused on generating risk-adjusted returns by originating and subsequently selling fixed-rate commercial real estate loans into the CMBS

securitization market at a profit. The TRS may also hold certain mezzanine loans that don't qualify as good REIT assets due to any potential loss from foreclosure.

• The real estate owned business represents real estate acquired by the Company through foreclosure, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or purchase.

Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2024 to the Year Ended December 31, 2023

Net Interest Income

Net interest income is generated on our interest-earning assets less related interest-bearing liabilities and is recorded as part of our real estate debt, real estate securities and TRS segments.

The following table presents the average balance of interest-earning assets less related interest-bearing liabilities, associated interest income and expense and corresponding yield earned and incurred for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (dollars in thousands):

(1) Based on amortized cost for real estate debt and real estate securities and principal amount for interest-bearing liabilities. Amounts are calculated based on daily averages for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

(2) Includes the effect of amortization of premium or accretion of discount and deferred fees.

(3) Excludes other income on the real estate owned business segment.

(4) Calculated as interest income or expense divided by average carrying value.

(5) The collateral sale of a Brooklyn hotel loan in April 2023, which allowed the company to recover its full investment, resulted in $15.5 million and $4.9 million in coupon and default interest income, respectively, recognized in the Company's real estate debt segment during the year ended December 31, 2023.

(6) Calculated by dividing total average interest-bearing liabilities by total average interest-earning assets.

(7) Calculated by dividing net interest income/spread by the average interest-earning assets less average interest-bearing liabilities.

Interest Income

Interest income for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, totaled $526.1 million and $552.5 million, respectively, a decrease of $26.4 million. The decrease was primarily due to the recognition of a non-recurring item of $20.4 million of interest income from the sale of a Brooklyn hotel asset in the second quarter of 2023, coupled with an increase in the number of non-performing loans in 2024, which averaged $190.9 million in principal for the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, our portfolio consisted of (i) 155 commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, (ii) 11 real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value, and (iii) three commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value. As of December 31, 2023, our portfolio consisted of (i) 144 commercial mortgage loans, held for investment and (ii) seven real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 totaled $338.5 million and $305.6 million, respectively, an increase of $32.9 million. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $429.6 million in the average carrying value of our collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") coupled with an increase in deferred fee amortization due to the utilization of expected duration of our CLOs compared to contractual duration, partially offset by a decrease of $144.0 million in the average carrying values of our repurchase agreements - commercial mortgage loans and real estate securities.

Revenue from Real Estate Owned

Revenue from real estate owned for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 totaled $22.8 million and $17.0 million, respectively. The $5.8 million increase was primarily the result of rental income from obtaining possession of additional multifamily properties brought on as real estate owned, through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Provision/(Benefit) for Credit losses

Provision for credit losses for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 totaled $35.7 million and $33.7 million, respectively.

General benefit for credit losses was $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to a general provision of $21.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The $21.7 million decrease in general reserve was primarily due to the portfolio turnover of older vintage loans with newly originated loans coupled with a more favorable macro-economic outlook compared to the preceding period.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the increase in specific reserve of $36.0 million was primarily related to two non-performing loans collateralized by office properties located in Colorado and Georgia. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the increase in specific reserve of $12.3 million, compared to the prior year, was primarily related to one office loan located in Oregon.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt

The Company did not realize a gain or loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2024. Realized gain on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $2.2 million was primarily related to the redemption of $17.5 million par value unsecured debt at a price equal to 75% of par value coupled with the repurchase of the Class E notes in our BSPRT 2021-FL7 CLO and $8.3 million of bonds of our BSPRT 2019-FL5 CLO partially offset by the redemption of BSPRT 2019-FL5.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Real Estate Securities, Available for Sale

Realized gain on real estate securities, available for sale for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $0.1 million was primarily related to the sale of six CMBS bonds. Realized gain on real estate securities, available for sale for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $0.1 million was primarily related to the sale of 12 CMBS bonds.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Sale of Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Investment

Realized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $0.1 million was related to the disposition of two senior and one mezzanine commercial mortgage loans. The Company did not have any dispositions of commercial mortgage loans for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Sale of Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Sale, Measured at Fair Value

Realized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $13.1 million was related to the sale of $271.2 million in principal amount of commercial real estate loans into the CMBS securitization market resulting in proceeds of $284.3 million. Realized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $3.9 million was related to the sale of $118.1 million in principal amount of commercial real estate loans into the CMBS securitization market resulting in proceeds of $122.1 million.

Gain/(Loss) on Other Real Estate Investments

Loss on other real estate investments for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $8.0 million primarily due to sales and write offs related to the Walgreens Portfolio coupled with the onboarding of real estate owned, held for sale multifamily properties. This is compared to a loss of $7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 related to a sale of one real estate owned, held for sale property located in New Rochelle, NY resulting in a loss of $1.2 million in addition to impairments of our real estate owned, held for sale assets of $1.9 million related to the St. Louis, MO office property and $4.0 million related to the Walgreens Portfolio.

Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Sale, Measured at Fair Value

The Company did not have any commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value held in an unrealized gain or loss position as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2023, unrealized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value was $43.8 thousand primarily related to the reversal of unrealized gain/loss on sales of commercial real estate loans into the CMBS securitization market.

Trading Gain/(Loss)

The Company did not hold any trading securities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. Trading loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $0.6 million was attributable to principal paydowns, changes in market values and gains on sales of residential adjustable-rate mortgage pass-through securities (“ARM Agency Securities” or “ARMs”) issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises or by an agency of the federal government ARM.

Net Result from Derivative Transactions

Net result from derivative transactions for the year ended December 31, 2024 of a $0.2 million loss was composed of a realized loss of $1.3 million due primarily to the termination and settlement of credit default swaps and treasury yields, partially offset by an unrealized gain of $1.1 million. This is compared to a net gain on our derivative portfolio of $0.9 million composed of a realized gain of $1.0 million due primarily to the termination and settlement of interest rate swap positions partially offset by an unrealized loss of $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

(Provision)/Benefit for Income Tax

Provision for income tax for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1.1 million compared to a benefit of $2.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The difference is due to changes in taxable income/loss in our TRS segment.

Net (Income)/Loss Attributable to Non-controlling Interest

Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in our consolidated joint ventures for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 totaled $3.5 million and $0.7 million, respectively.

Preferred Share Dividends

Preferred share dividends were $27.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Expenses from Operations

Expenses from operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

For the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred asset management and subordinated performance fees and administrative services expenses of $26.0 million and $9.7 million, respectively, which are payable to our Advisor under our asset management agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 2023, asset management and incentive fees decreased due to the decrease in net income and applicable equity used to calculate the performance fee, coupled with a decrease in administrative services expenses due to less time spent on asset workout. Refer to Note 11 - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements for a summary of the Company's Advisory Agreement with the Advisor and a description of how our fees are calculated.

The decrease in operating expense was partially offset by (i) an increase in share-based compensation due to equity awards issued under the Company's 2021 Incentive Plan during the year ended December 31, 2024 and (ii) an increase in other expenses related to property operating expenses and third party management fees incurred in order to operate various real estate owned investments in our portfolio.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 31, 2024 to the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024

Net Interest Income

Net interest income is generated on our interest-earning assets less related interest-bearing liabilities and is recorded as part of our real estate debt, real estate securities and TRS segments.

The following table presents the average balance of interest-earning assets less related interest-bearing liabilities, associated interest income and expense and corresponding yield earned and incurred for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and three months ended September 30, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

(1) Based on amortized cost for real estate debt and real estate securities and principal amount for interest-bearing liabilities. Amounts are calculated based on daily averages for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, respectively.

(2) Includes the effect of amortization of premium or accretion of discount and deferred fees.

(3) Excludes other income on the real estate owned business segment.

(4) Calculated as interest income or expense divided by average carrying value.

(5) Annualized.

(6) Calculated by dividing total average interest-bearing liabilities by total average interest-earning assets.

(7) Calculated by dividing net interest income/spread by the average interest-earning assets less average interest-bearing liabilities.

Interest Income

Interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024 totaled $127.8 million and $134.1 million, respectively, a decrease of $6.3 million. The decrease was primarily due to an approximate 59 basis point decrease in daily average SOFR and SOFR equivalent rates coupled with a $274.4 million decrease in the average carrying value of our real estate debt. As of December 31, 2024, our portfolio consisted of (i) 155 commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, (ii) 11 real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value, and (iii) three commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value. As of September 30, 2024, our portfolio consisted of (i) 157 commercial mortgage loans, held for investment and (ii) ten real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024 totaled $80.5 million and $89.9 million, respectively, a decrease of $9.4 million due primarily to a decrease of $585.9 million in the carrying value of our repurchase agreements - commercial mortgage loans, partially offset by an increase of $455.2 million in the average carrying value of our collateralized loan obligations.

Revenue from Real Estate Owned

For the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, revenue from real estate owned was $8.7 million and $5.4 million, respectively. The $3.3 million increase was primarily the result of rental income from onboarding multifamily properties brought on as real estate owned, through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, during the three months ended December 31, 2024.

(Provision)/Benefit for Credit losses

Provision for credit losses was $0.9 million during the three months ended December 31, 2024 compared to a benefit of $0.3 million during the three months ended September 30, 2024.

For the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, general benefit for credit losses was $1.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively, an increase in benefit of $0.8 million primarily due to the portfolio turnover of older vintage loans with newly originated loans coupled with a more favorable macro-economic outlook compared to the preceding period.

For the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, specific provision for credit losses was $2.5 million and $0.5 million, respectively. For the three months ended December 31, 2024, the specific provision was primarily related to a non-performing loan collateralized by a multifamily property located in Texas. For the three months ended September 30, 2024, the specific provision was primarily related to foreclosures on multifamily properties located in Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Real Estate Securities, Available for Sale

The Company did not realize a gain or loss on real estate securities, available for sale for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Realized gain on real estate securities, available for sale for the three months ended September 30, 2024 of $0.1 million was primarily related to the sale of two CMBS bonds.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Sale of Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Investment

Realized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, for the three months ended December 31, 2024 of $0.1 million was related to the disposition of two senior and one mezzanine commercial mortgage loans. The Company did not record any realized gains or losses on dispositions of commercial mortgage loans for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

Realized Gain/(Loss) on Sale of Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Sale, Measured at Fair Value

The Company did not realize any gain or loss on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Realized gain on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value for the three months ended September 30, 2024 of $6.2 million was related to the sale of $131.6 million in principal amount of commercial real estate loans into the CMBS securitization market resulting in proceeds of $137.8 million.

Gain/(Loss) on Other Real Estate Investments

Gain on other real estate investments for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $0.5 million primarily due to the onboarding of real estate owned, held for sale, multifamily properties partially offset by losses on the sales of three, held for sale, multifamily properties and one, held for sale, retail property from our Walgreens Portfolio. This is compared to a loss of $2.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024 primarily due to write offs related to the Walgreens Portfolio coupled with the onboarding of real estate owned, held for sale, multifamily properties.

Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Commercial Mortgage Loans, Held for Sale, Measured at Fair Value

The Company did not have any commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value held in an unrealized gain or loss position as of December 31, 2024. Unrealized loss on commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value, for the three months ended September 30, 2024 was $0.6 million which is attributable to the reversal of previous unrealized gains due to sales into the CMBS securitization market.

Net Result from Derivative Transactions

Net result from derivative transactions for the three months ended December 31, 2024 of a $1.0 million gain was composed primarily of unrealized gains on mark to market on credit default swaps, treasury note futures, and options. This is compared to a net loss on our derivative portfolio of $1.3 million composed of a realized loss of $1.6 million primarily related to the termination and settlement of credit default swaps and treasury note futures, partially offset by an unrealized gain of $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

(Provision)/Benefit for Income Tax

Provision for income tax for each of the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, was $0.2 million.

Net (Income)/Loss Attributable to Non-controlling Interest

Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in our consolidated joint ventures for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024 totaled $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively.

Expenses from operations

Expenses from operations for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024 consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

For the three months ended December 31, 2024, we incurred asset management and subordinated performance fees and administrative services expenses of $6.9 million and $2.3 million, respectively, which are payable to our Advisor under our asset management agreement. For the three months ended December 31, 2024 compared to September 30, 2024, asset management and incentive fees increased due to actual net income surpassing previously projected net income, while administrative services expenses decreased due to increases of non-reimbursable expenses. Refer to Note 11 - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements for a summary of the Company's Advisory Agreement with the Advisor and a description of how our fees are calculated.

The increase in operating expense was also partially related to an increase in other expenses due to expenses related to property operating expenses and third party management fees incurred in order to operate various real estate owned investments in our portfolio.

Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2023 to the Year Ended December 31, 2022

See Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2024, for a discussion of the comparison of the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2022.

Portfolio

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our portfolio consisted of 155 and 144 commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, respectively. The commercial mortgage loans held for investment, net of allowance for credit losses, as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, had a total carrying value of $4,908.7 million and $4,989.8 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, our commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value, were comprised of three loans with a total fair value of $87.3 million. As of December 31, 2023, the Company did not hold any commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, we had $203.0 million and $242.6 million, respectively, of real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our real estate owned, held for investment portfolio was composed of three properties, with carrying values of $113.2 million and $115.8 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, we had twelve and twenty-three properties classified as real estate owned, held for sale, respectively, with combined carrying values of $222.9 million and $103.7 million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2024, we had three loans (one secured by a multifamily property and two secured by office properties), designated as non-performing status with a total amortized cost of $133.2 million. As of December 31, 2023, we had two loans, designated as non-performing status with a total amortized cost of $78.2 million. As of December 31, 2024, three loans designated as non-performing and put on cost recovery status were determined to have a combined $31.2 million specific allowance for credit losses. During the year ended December 31, 2023, no specific allowance for credit losses were recorded on the two non-performing loans, all of which were senior mortgage notes secured by multifamily properties.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, excluding commercial mortgage loans on non-performing status, had a weighted average coupon of 8.0% and 9.2%, respectively, and a weighted average remaining life of 1.1 years and 0.9 years, respectively.

The following charts summarize our commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, by coupon rate type, collateral type geographical region and state as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:

An investments region classification is defined according to the below map based on the location of investments secured property.

The following charts show the par value by contractual maturity year for the investments in our portfolio as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:

The following table shows selected data from our commercial mortgage loans, held for investment in our portfolio as of December 31, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

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(1) For a discussion of risk ratings, see Note 3 - Commercial Mortgage Loans in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.

(2) Date loan was originated or acquired by us. The origination or acquisition date is not updated for subsequent loan modifications.

(3) Fully extended maturity assumes all extension options are exercised by the borrower; provided, however, that our loans may be repaid prior to such date.

(4) Our floating rate loan agreements generally contain the contractual obligation for the borrower to maintain an interest rate cap to protect against rising interest rates. In a simple interest rate cap, the borrower pays a premium for a notional principal amount based on a capped interest rate (the “cap rate”). When the floating rate exceeds the cap rate, the borrower receives a payment from the cap counterparty equal to the difference between the floating rate and the cap rate on the same notional principal amount for a specified period of time. When interest rates rise, the value of an interest rate cap will increase, thereby reducing the borrower's exposure to rising interest rates.

(5) As of December 31, 2024, all of our commercial mortgage loans, held for investment which had been indexed at LIBOR were converted to SOFR utilizing the 11.448 basis points adjustment and the applicable spreads remain unchanged. The loans which have the SOFR adjustment are indicated with “Adj. 1M SOFR Term.”

(6) Effective yield is calculated as the spread of the loan plus the greater of the applicable index or index floor.

(7) LTV represents the ratio of the loan amount to the appraised value of the property at the time of origination. However, for predevelopment construction loans at origination, LTV is not applicable and is therefore nil.

(8) Commitment on the loan was unfunded as of December 31, 2024.

The following table shows selected data from our commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value as of December 31, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

(1) Loan to value percentage (LTV) represents the ratio of the loan amount to the appraised value of the property at the time of origination.

The following table shows selected data from our real estate owned, held for investment assets in our portfolio as of December 31, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

The following table shows selected data from our real estate owned, held for sale assets in our portfolio as of December 31, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

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The following table shows selected data from our real estate securities, available for sale, measured at fair value as of December 31, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Our expected material cash requirements over the next twelve months and thereafter are composed of (i) contractually obligated payments, including payments of principal and interest and contractually-obligated fundings on our loans; (ii) other essential expenditures, including operating and administrative expenses and dividends paid in accordance with REIT distribution requirements; and (iii) opportunistic investments, including new loans.

Our contractually obligated payments primarily consist of payment obligations under the debt financing arrangements which are set forth below, and included in the table under Contractual Obligations and Commitments.

We may from time to time purchase or retire outstanding debt securities and repurchase or redeem our equity securities. Such purchases, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, liquidity requirements and other factors.

We closely monitor our liquidity position and believe that we have sufficient current liquidity and access to additional liquidity to meet our financial obligations for the next 12 months and beyond.

Debt-to-Equity Ratio and Total Leverage Ratio

The following table presents our debt-to-equity and total leverage ratios:

(1) Represents (i) total outstanding borrowings under secured financing arrangements, including collateralized loan obligations, repurchase agreements - commercial mortgage loans, repurchase agreements - real estate securities, asset-specific financing arrangements, and unsecured debt, less cash and cash equivalents, to (ii) total equity and total redeemable convertible preferred stock, at period end. Recourse net debt-to-equity ratio was 0.3x and 0.2x as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

(2) Represents (i) total outstanding borrowings under secured financing arrangements, including collateralized loan obligations, repurchase agreements - commercial mortgage loans, repurchase agreements - real estate securities, asset-specific financing arrangements, and unsecured debt, to (ii) total equity and total redeemable convertible preferred stock, at period end. Recourse leverage ratio was 0.4x and 0.4x as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Sources of Liquidity

Our primary sources of liquidity include unrestricted cash, capacity in our collateralized loan obligations available for reinvestment, and funds available and in progress on financing lines.

Our current sources of near-term liquidity as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 are set forth in the following table (dollars in millions):

(1) See discussion below for further information on the Company's collateralized loan obligations.

(2) Represents cash available to invest at a market advance rate utilizing available capacity on financing lines.

We expect to use additional debt and equity financing as a source of capital. Our board of directors currently intends to operate at a leverage level of between one to three times book value of equity. However, our board of directors may change this target without shareholder approval. We anticipate that our debt and equity financing sources and our anticipated cash generated from operations will be adequate to fund our anticipated uses of capital.

We have an effective shelf registration statement for offerings of equity securities that is not limited on the amount of securities we may issue. We also have authorized an at-the-market sales program (“ATM”) pursuant to which we may sell up to $200 million of shares of our common stock from time to time. We have not sold any shares of common stock under the ATM to date. We also may access liquidity through our dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan (“DRIP”), which includes a direct stock purchase option.

In addition to our current mix of financing sources, we may also access additional forms of financings, including credit facilities, securitizations, public and private, secured and unsecured debt issuances by the Company or its subsidiaries, or through capital recycling initiatives whereby we sell certain assets in our portfolio and reinvest the proceeds in assets with more attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Collateralized Loan Obligations

During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company raised $1.0 billion through the issuance of our CLO, BSPRT 2024-FL11 Issuer, LLC. Additionally, as of December 31, 2024, the Company had $12.2 million of reinvestment capital available across all outstanding collateralized loan obligations. The following table shows the par value outstanding for each CLO and the respective reinvestment end dates (dollars in millions):

Repurchase Agreements and Revolving Credit Facilities (“Repo and Revolving Credit Facilities”)

The Repo and Revolving Credit Facilities are financing sources through which the Company may pledge one or more mortgage loans to the financing entity in exchange for funds typically at an advance rate that typically range between 60% to 75% of the principal amount of the mortgage loan being pledged.

We expect to use the advances from these Repo and Revolving Credit Facilities to finance the acquisition or origination of eligible loans, including first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participation interests therein.

The Repo and Revolving Credit Facilities generally provide that in the event of a decrease in the value of our collateral, the lenders can demand additional collateral. Should the value of our collateral decrease as a result of deteriorating credit quality, resulting margin calls may cause an adverse change in our liquidity position.

The following tables summarize our Repo and Revolving Credit Facilities and our master repurchase agreements (“MRAs”) for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively:

The use of our warehouse lines is dependent upon a number of factors including but not limited to: origination volume, loan repayments and prepayments, our use of other financing sources such as collateralized loan obligations, our liquidity needs and types of loan assets and underlying collateral that we hold.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the maximum monthly average outstanding balance was $1.1 billion, of which $0.8 billion was related to repurchase agreements on our commercial mortgage loans and $0.3 billion for repurchase agreements on our real estate securities.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, the maximum monthly average outstanding balance was $1.2 billion, of which $0.9 billion was related to repurchase agreements on our commercial mortgage loans and $0.3 billion for repurchase agreements on our real estate securities.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, the maximum monthly average outstanding balance was $5.3 billion, of which $1.1 billion was related to repurchase agreements on our commercial mortgage loans and 4.2 billion for repurchase agreements on our real estate securities.

Distributions

In order to maintain our election to qualify as a REIT, we must currently distribute, at a minimum, an amount equal to 90% of our taxable income, without regard to the deduction for distributions paid and excluding net capital gains. The Company must distribute 100% of its taxable income (including net capital gains) to avoid paying corporate U.S. federal income taxes.

Distributions on our common stock are payable when declared by our board of directors.

Dividends payable on each share of Series H convertible preferred stock ("Series H Preferred Stock") is generally equal to the quarterly dividend that would have been paid had such share of preferred stock been converted to a share of common stock, except to the extent common stock dividends have been reduced below certain specified levels. To the extent dividends on shares of preferred stock are not authorized and declared by our board of directors and paid by the Company monthly, the dividend amounts will accrue.

Holders of shares of the Company's 7.50% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock ("Series E Preferred Stock") are entitled to receive, when, as and if authorized by our board of directors and declared by the Company, out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends, cumulative cash dividends at the rate of 7.50% of the $25.00 per share liquidation preference per annum (equivalent to $1.875 per annum per share).

In December 2024, the Company's board of directors declared the following: (i) a fourth quarter 2024 dividend of $0.355 per share on the Company's common stock (equivalent to $1.42 per annum), (ii) a fourth quarter 2024 dividend of $106.22 per share on the Company’s Series H Preferred Stock, and (iii) a fourth quarter 2024 dividend of $0.46875 per share on the Company’s Series E Preferred Stock, all of which were paid in January 2025 to holders of record as of December 31, 2024.

Under the Company's dividend reinvestment and direct stock purchase plan ("DRIP"), the Company may elect to supply shares for reinvestment via newly issued shares of common stock under the DRIP or via shares of common stock acquired by the DRIP administrator on the open market. For the year ended December 31, 2024, 0 and 163,952 shares of common stock were issued by the Company and purchased in the open market by the DRIP administrator and allocated to DRIP participants, respectively, under the dividend reinvestment component of DRIP.

During the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company paid an aggregate of $117.9 million and $118.0 million, respectively, of common stock distributions.

Cash Flows

The following table sets forth changes in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for the years ended December 31, 2024 2023, and 2022, respectively

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2024, cash inflows of $57.2 million from operating activities were primarily driven by (i) net income of $92.4 million and (ii) certain non-cash expenses, partially offset by net cash outlay of $74.1 million related to originations, sales and repayment of commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash inflows of $197.4 million from operating activities were primarily driven by (i) net income of $144.5 million, (ii) net proceeds of $19.5 million related to originations, sales and repayment of commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair and (iii) certain non-cash expenses.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2024 cash outflows of $155.5 million from investing activities were primarily driven by (i) the origination and purchase of commercial mortgage loans, held for investment for $1.8 billion, (ii) the purchase of real estate securities, available for sale for $79.5 million and (iii) the purchase of equity method investment in real estate for $13.4 million. Outflows were partially offset by (i) proceeds from principal repayments of $1.5 billion received on commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, (ii) proceeds received from the sale or paydown of real estate securities, available for sale of $120.0 million, (iii) proceeds from the sale of real estate owned, held for sale assets of $34.4 million and (iv) proceeds from the sale of commercial mortgage loans, held for investment of $33.4 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash inflows of $380.8 million from investing activities were primarily driven by (i) proceeds from principal repayments of $1.1 billion received on commercial mortgage loans, held for investment, (ii) proceeds from the sale or paydown of real estate securities, available for sale of $418.8 million, (iii) proceeds from the sale of real estate owned, held for sale assets of $39.8 million and (iv) $17.7 million received from principal collateral on mortgage investments. Inflows were partially offset by (i) the origination and purchase of commercial mortgage loans, held for investment for $936.3 million and (ii) the purchase of real estate securities, available for sale for $223.8 million.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2024 cash outflows of $48.6 million from financing activities were primarily driven by (i) repayments on our other financings of $23.7 million, (ii) $144.9 million of distributions paid to shareholders, (iii) $16.2 million of distributions paid to non-controlling interest, (iv) payments of deferred financing costs of $9.3 million and (v) $4.9 million of common stock repurchases. Outflows were partially offset by (i) net borrowings on collateralized loan obligations of $59.1 million, (ii) net borrowings on repurchase agreements for real estate securities of $62.6 million and (iii) net borrowings on repurchase agreements and revolving credit facilities for commercial mortgage loans of $30.1 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash outflows of $425.0 million from financing activities were primarily driven by (i) net repayments on repurchase agreements for real estate securities of $266.0 million, (ii) net repayments on repurchase agreements and revolving credit facilities for commercial mortgage loans of $381.2 million, (iii) net repayments on our other financings of $39.8 million, (iv) $144.3 million of distributions paid to shareholders, (v) repayments on unsecured debt of $13.4 million, (vi) payments of deferred financing costs of $12.9 million and (vii) $12.5 million of common stock repurchases. Outflows were partially offset by net borrowings on collateralized loan obligations of $448.1 million.

Election as a REIT

We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. As a REIT, if we meet certain organizational and operational requirements and distribute at least 90% of our "REIT taxable income" (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to our stockholders in a year, we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent of the income that we distribute. Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain state and local taxes on our income and property, and U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

Our contractual obligations, excluding interest obligations (as amounts are not fixed or determinable), as of December 31, 2024 are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

(1) The allocation of our unfunded loan commitments is based on the earlier of the commitment expiration date or the loan maturity date.

(2) Excludes $532.4 million of CLO notes, held by the Company, which are eliminated in Collateralized loan obligations in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024.

In addition to its cash requirements, the Company pays a quarterly dividend and has an existing share repurchase authorization. As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s quarterly cash dividend was $0.355 per share of common stock (which was paid on an as-converted basis on the Company’s shares of Series H Preferred Stock), and $0.46875 per share on the Company’s shares of Series E Preferred Stock. The payment of future dividends is subject to declaration by the Board of Directors. The Company’s Board of Directors also has authorized a $65 million share repurchase program, of which $31.1 million remained available as of December 31, 2024. The authorization does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares.

Related Party Arrangements

Benefit Street Partners L.L.C.

Amended Advisory Agreement

Refer to “Note 11 - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements” for a summary of the Company’s Advisory Agreement with the Advisor and amounts paid to the Advisor pursuant to the Advisory Agreement for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the “Committee”) of the Company's board of directors, which consists solely of the Company’s independent directors, negotiated, approved and recommended that the board of directors approve, the amended Advisory Agreement. The Committee engaged independent legal counsel to assist the Committee in negotiating the amended Advisory Agreement.

Pursuant to the amended Advisory Agreement, the Advisor provides the daily management for the Company and the Operating Partnership, including an investment program consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Company as determined and adopted from time to time by the board of directors. The initial term of the amended Advisory Agreement was three-years and was automatically renewed for an additional one-year period on January 19, 2025 and will continue to automatically renew for additional one-year periods unless either party elects not to renew.

The Company may terminate the amended Advisory Agreement for a Cause Event (as defined in the amended Advisory Agreement) without payment of a termination fee. Following the expiration of a term, and upon 180 days’ prior written notice, the Company may, without cause, elect not to renew the amended Advisory Agreement upon the determination by two-thirds of the Company’s independent directors that (i) there has been unsatisfactory performance by the Advisor or (ii) that the asset management fee and annual subordinated performance fee payable to the Advisor are not fair, subject to certain conditions. In such case, the Company shall be obligated to pay a termination fee.

During the term of the amended Advisory Agreement, the Advisor shall not, directly or indirectly, manage or advise another REIT that is engaged in the business of the Company in any geographical region in which the Company has a significant investment, or provide any services related to fixed-rate conduit lending to any other person, subject to certain conditions.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We had no off balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2024 and through the date of the filing of this Form 10-K.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common

Distributable Earnings is a non-GAAP measure, which the Company defines as GAAP net income (loss), adjusted for (i) non-cash CLO amortization acceleration and amortization over the expected useful life of the Company's CLOs, (ii) unrealized gains and losses on loans and derivatives, including CECL reserves and impairments, net of realized gains and losses, as described further below, (iii) non-cash equity compensation expense, (iv) depreciation and amortization, (v) subordinated performance fee accruals/(reversal), (vi) realized gains and losses on debt extinguishment and CLO calls, and (vii) certain other non-cash items. Further, Distributable Earnings to Common, a non-GAAP measure, presents Distributable Earnings net of (i) perpetual preferred stock dividend payments and (ii) non-controlling interests in joint ventures.

As noted above, we exclude unrealized gains and losses on loans and other investments, including CECL reserves and impairments, from our calculation of Distributable Earnings and include realized gains and losses. The nature of these adjustments is described more fully in the footnotes to our reconciliation tables. GAAP loan loss reserves and any property impairment losses have been excluded from Distributable Earnings consistent with other unrealized losses pursuant to our existing definition of Distributable Earnings. We expect to only recognize such potential credit or property impairment losses in Distributable Earnings if and when such amounts are deemed nonrecoverable upon a realization event. This is generally at the time a loan is repaid, or in the case of a foreclosure or other property, when the underlying asset is sold. Amounts may also be deemed non-recoverable if, in our determination, it is nearly certain the carrying amounts will not be collected or realized. The realized loss amount reflected in Distributable Earnings will generally equal the difference between the cash received and the

Distributable Earnings basis of the asset. The timing of any such loss realization in our Distributable Earnings may differ materially from the timing of the corresponding loss reserves, charge-offs or impairments in our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

The Company believes that Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common provide meaningful information to consider in addition to the disclosed GAAP results. The Company believes Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common are useful financial metrics for existing and potential future holders of its common stock as historically, over time, Distributable Earnings to Common has been an indicator of common dividends per share. As a REIT, the Company generally must distribute annually at least 90% of its taxable income, subject to certain adjustments, and therefore believes dividends are one of the principal reasons stockholders may invest in its common stock. Further, Distributable Earnings to Common helps investors evaluate performance excluding the effects of certain transactions and GAAP adjustments that the Company does not believe are necessarily indicative of current loan portfolio performance and the Company's operations and is one of the performance metrics the Company's board of directors considers when dividends are declared.

Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common do not represent net income (loss) and should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP net income (loss). The methodology for calculating Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common may differ from the methodologies employed by other companies and thus may not be comparable to the Distributable Earnings reported by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of GAAP net income to Distributable Earnings and Distributable Earnings to Common for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 (dollars in thousands):

(1) Before Q1 2024, we adjusted GAAP income for non-cash CLO amortization acceleration to effectively amortize the issuance costs of our CLOs over the expected lifetime of the CLOs. We assume our CLOs will be outstanding for approximately four years and amortized the financing costs over approximately four years in our distributable earnings as compared to effective yield methodology in our GAAP earnings. Starting in Q1 2024, we amortized the issuance costs incurred on our CLOs over the expected lifetime of the CLOs in our GAAP presentation, making our previous adjustment no longer necessary.

(2) Represents unrealized gains and losses on (i) commercial mortgage loans, held for sale, measured at fair value, (ii) other real estate investments, measured at fair value and (iii) derivatives.

(3) Represents accrued and unpaid subordinated performance fee. In addition, reversal of subordinated performance fee represents cash payment obligations during the period.

(4) Represents amounts deemed nonrecoverable upon a realization event, which is generally at the time a loan is repaid, or in the case of a foreclosure or other property, when the underlying asset is sold. Amounts may also be deemed non-recoverable if, in our determination, it is nearly certain the carrying amounts will not be collected or realized upon sale. Amount may be different than the GAAP basis. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has $11.9 million of GAAP loss adjustments that would run through distributable earnings if and when cash losses are realized.

(5) Represents loan workout charges the Company incurred, which the Company deemed likely to be recovered. Reversal of loan workout charges represent recoveries received. During the second quarter of 2023, the Company recovered $5.1 million of loan workout charges, in aggregate, related to the loan workout charges incurred in 2022.

(6) Represents the average of all classes of equity except the Series E Preferred Stock.

(7) Fully Converted assumes conversion of our series of convertible preferred stock and full vesting of our outstanding equity compensation awards.

Credit Risk

Our investments are subject to a high degree of credit risk. Credit risk is the exposure to loss from loan defaults. Default rates are subject to a wide variety of factors, including, but not limited to, borrower financial condition, property performance, property management, supply/demand factors, construction trends, consumer behavior, regional economics, interest rates, the strength of the U.S. economy, and other factors beyond our control. All loans are subject to a certain probability of default. We manage credit risk through the underwriting process, acquiring our investments at the appropriate discount to face value, if any, and establishing loss assumptions. We also carefully monitor the performance of the loans, as well as external factors that may affect their value.

Capital Market Risk

We are exposed to risks related to the debt capital markets, and our related ability to finance our business through borrowings under repurchase obligations or other debt instruments. As a REIT, we are required to distribute a significant portion of our taxable income annually, which constrains our ability to accumulate operating cash flow and therefore requires us to utilize debt or equity capital to finance our business. We seek to mitigate these risks by monitoring the debt capital markets to inform our decisions on the amount, timing and terms of capital we raise.

Market uncertainty and volatility may cause fluctuation in market value of certain asset classes within our portfolio. We have and may continue to receive margin calls from our lenders as a result of the decline in the market value of the assets pledged by us to our lenders under our repurchase agreements and warehouse credit facilities, and if we fail to resolve such margin calls when due by payment of cash or delivery of additional collateral, the lenders may exercise remedies including demanding payment by us of our aggregate outstanding financing obligations and/or taking ownership of the loans or other assets securing the applicable obligations and liquidating them at inopportune prices.

Interest Rate Risk

Our market risk arises primarily from interest rate risk relating to interest rate fluctuations. Many factors including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors that are beyond our control contribute to interest rate risk. To meet our short and long-term liquidity requirements, we may borrow funds at fixed and variable rates. Our interest rate risk management objectives are to limit the impact of interest rate changes in earnings and cash flows and to lower our overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, from time to time, we may enter into interest rate hedge contracts such as swaps, collars and treasury lock agreements in order to mitigate our interest rate risk with respect to various debt instruments. While hedging activities may insulate us against adverse changes in interest rates, they may also limit our ability to participate in benefits of lower interest rates with respect to our portfolio of investments with fixed interest rates. We do not have any foreign denominated investments, and thus, we are not exposed to foreign currency fluctuations.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our portfolio included 149 and 141 variable rate investments, respectively, based on LIBOR and SOFR (or “indexing rates”) for various terms. As of June 2023, the Company has fully transitioned all loans formerly on LIBOR indexing rates to SOFR indexing rates. The following table quantifies the potential changes in interest income net of interest expense should interest rates increase by 50 basis points or decrease by 50 or 100 basis points, assuming that our current balance sheet was to remain constant and no actions were taken to alter our existing interest rate sensitivity. The changes in the portfolio for each basis points increase/decrease is a change from the base scenario.

Real Estate Risk

The market values of commercial mortgage assets are subject to volatility and may be affected adversely by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, national, regional and local economic conditions (which may be adversely affected by industry slowdowns and other factors); local real estate conditions; changes or continued weakness in specific industry segments; and demographic factors. In addition, decreases in property values reduce the value of the collateral and the potential proceeds available to a borrower to repay the underlying loans, which could also cause us to suffer losses.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in reports we file and submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures in reaching that level of reasonable assurance.

In accordance with Rules 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b) of the Exchange Act, management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded, as of December 31, 2024, that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide the reasonable assurance described above.

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management's Annual Reporting on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. In making that assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013).

Based on its assessment, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2024, our internal control over financial reporting was effective.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. Their report dated February 26, 2025, which is included herein, expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

During the quarter ended December 31, 2024, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.