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Christopher Farrar, Co-Founder, CEO & Director, stated that while performance is strong, it is not at its peak. He identified technology implementation over the next 12-18 months as a key area for improving efficiency and productivity. Geographically, he confirmed the company has a deep reach across 48 states, focusing on major MSAs, and highlighted their successful office in Miami, noting the portfolio's concentration often resembles a 'smile' across the coasts and southern states.

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President and CEO Christopher Farrar reported a headcount of 323 employees across five office locations operating on a hybrid model. He outlined a five-year vision to grow the loan portfolio to $10 billion, driven by technology-led scaling and targeted headcount additions. Farrar also clarified that Velocity performs all special servicing in-house while outsourcing primary servicing functions.

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President and CEO Chris Farrar confirmed that Velocity's investor clients prioritize certainty of execution and access to capital over interest rates, making them less rate-sensitive than traditional homebuyers. CFO Mark Szczepaniak provided a key clarification on NPLs, stating that over 90% of resolutions come from the original borrower either bringing the loan current or paying it off entirely, which generates gains from default interest and prepayment fees. The remainder are resolved through foreclosure or REO sales.

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President and CEO Chris Farrar explained that Velocity serves an underserved niche with smaller loan sizes that are unattractive to larger institutions. He emphasized that borrowers value the company's reliability and certainty of execution. Farrar confirmed their borrowers are far less rate-sensitive, noting they only changed rates once in the quarter, and that October was a record month for applications despite broader rate moves.

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CFO Paul Elenio explained the net interest income drop was due to new delinquencies, lower collections of back interest, and a $5 million reversal of accrued interest on loans that were foreclosed upon. CEO Ivan Kaufman stated that 2025 is a "transitional year" for aggressively resolving problem assets, raising the expected REO peak to a $400-$600 million range. He noted a strategy of taking back assets for quicker repositioning and sale, even those with higher occupancy, from sponsors who are out of capital.

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President and CEO Ivan Kaufman stated that net portfolio size will depend on the balance between new originations ($1.5B-$2B) and runoff ($1.5B-$3B), fueled by a robust securitization market. He attributed poor performance of prior vintages to being at the top of the market, post-COVID issues, rising operational costs, and inexperienced sponsors, noting the current cycle has been unusually long but fundamentals are now strengthening.

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President and CEO Ivan Kaufman explained that while capital was re-entering the space, the recent rate spike has caused a pause. He noted strong demand from entrepreneurial capital for assets transitioned to new sponsors, while Arbor's team handles the 'heavy lift' REO properties. Executive Paul Elenio added that the Fitch upgrade was primarily due to the quality of their agency servicing platform, which has seen significant investment in technology and staffing.

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Executive Paul Elenio clarified that the company has not incurred any significant realized losses to date, as losses are only recognized upon the final disposition of REO assets, and the $162 million in CECL reserves is already reflected in book value. President and CEO Ivan Kaufman added that the 3-year note was considered appropriately priced capital to fund accretive, mid-teens return opportunities in the bridge and construction lending spaces, making it a strategic and accretive use of funds.

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CEO Christopher Abate acknowledged the "lock-in effect" is a real issue and stated the company is focused on solutions like closed-end seconds. He explained that the current strategy is to aggressively gain market share, so when rates do fall and activity accelerates, Redwood will benefit disproportionately from its larger wallet share. He emphasized the jumbo market's resilience despite broader housing headwinds.

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President Dashiell Robinson noted that 30-year prime jumbo rates are in the high-6% to 7% range, which is wide relative to benchmarks, improving execution efficiency despite being a headwind for affordability. CEO Christopher Abate added that the consistent bid from private credit has kept the mortgage sector orderly and prevented excessive spread gapping during recent volatility.

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President Dashiell Robinson quoted current 30-year prime jumbo rates in the high 6% range. He emphasized that the business is not dependent on lower rates, explaining that the 'higher for longer' environment creates significant opportunities to acquire large loan portfolios from banks, which leverages Redwood's strong execution and distribution capabilities.

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President Dashiell Robinson stated that current rates are in the 'very high 6s, very low 7s,' approximately 60-75 basis points above the summer lows. He noted that when rates were in the low 6s, the market saw a significant pickup in both refinance and purchase activity, demonstrating clear borrower sensitivity at that level.

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CEO Mike Mazzei stated that the current lending environment is much improved, with better debt yields and the absence of syndicators. He noted a constructive outlook for multifamily. President & COO Andrew Witt added that the company has the potential to grow its loan portfolio from $2.4 billion to approximately $3.5 billion by redeploying capital from its REO portfolio and existing liquidity.

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CEO Mike Mazzei responded that lower short-term rates are positive for the portfolio's credit performance, as they help borrowers with refinancing and reduce the cost of interest rate caps. He noted that while spreads might widen as rates fall, the overall effect is beneficial for getting deals done, provided there isn't a significant rise in unemployment. Mazzei expressed optimism that the Fed would begin easing, which would support the commercial real estate market.

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CEO Mike Mazzei confirmed the company's intention to execute a new CLO in the second half of 2025 after originating an additional $600-$700 million in loans. He stated a goal to originate over $1 billion in new loans for the year to grow the portfolio towards $3.5 billion, which is necessary to sustain and potentially grow the dividend. Mazzei noted that while the lending market is competitive, he expects more transaction activity to be driven by lenders pushing borrowers to sell properties as the year progresses.

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CEO Michael Mazzei affirmed the capacity to grow the portfolio by $1 billion, citing significant cash on hand and under-levered assets. On CMBS lending, Mazzei acknowledged his deep experience in the space but described the current market as highly competitive with significant barriers to entry. While BrightSpire has the capability, he stated that the return on resources required does not currently justify entering the business, though they might resize and sell individual loans into conduits.

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President & COO W. Patrick Mattson explained that KREF focuses on capital allocation and leverage levels rather than a specific portfolio size target, noting that buybacks and CMBS investments affect the loan portfolio's scale. CEO Matt Salem added that KREF aims for the CMBS B-piece strategy to be a more consistent part of its business, citing diversification, attractive risk-reward, and the benefit of adding duration to the portfolio to reduce vintage risk.

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CEO Matt Salem highlighted that the current environment offers a safer lending basis at lower valuations on 'almost stabilized' assets, a shift from prior years. He noted the pipeline is now heavily weighted toward refinancings (70%) as sponsors bridge to a better capital markets environment. He also identified a near-term opportunity in large loans due to CMBS market volatility. On buybacks, he reiterated the need for a balanced approach between repurchases and new investments.

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CEO Matt Salem reiterated that the company evaluates both buybacks and new loans, favoring a balanced approach as demonstrated in the past. President & COO Patrick Mattson addressed the portfolio size, stating that based on the current portfolio and target leverage, the loan book could grow to the $6.6 billion to $6.7 billion range, excluding the impact of resolving REO assets.

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CEO Bryan Donohoe confirmed a selective and patient approach, stating that balance sheet flexibility allows them to evaluate all capital deployment opportunities. He noted that market volatility, partly from tariff announcements, justifies waiting for a more stable environment, likely in the second half of the year. An executive, likely CFO Jeffrey Gonzales, confirmed a $50 million share buyback authorization is in place and is being actively evaluated as a use of capital.

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CEO Bryan Donohoe and CFO Jeffrey Gonzales responded that they will opportunistically exit these assets but are being patient to maximize value, aided by the stable cash flow the properties generate. Donohoe confirmed the California office asset is currently held for sale. Gonzales added that taking back the North Carolina office loan is accretive to earnings as it was previously on nonaccrual.

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CFO Michael Roper confirmed the estimated 2-4% Q2 decline in economic book value is net of the dividend accrual. President and CIO Bryan Wulfsohn explained MFA prefers deep relationships with 4-8 non-QM sellers rather than a broad conduit and sees definite opportunity to grow the program. He noted that while securitization spreads widened, asset yields also widened, keeping ROEs stable.

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CEO Brian Harris predicted the 10-year Treasury would rise towards 4.75% while short-term rates fall, creating a steeper curve that benefits their business model. He explained that Ladder's primary hedge against interest rate risk is the attractive price at which it acquires assets. The company also minimizes risk by focusing on short-duration, floating-rate AAA securities, using partial swaps on the few fixed-rate instruments it holds, and funding its balance sheet with long-term, fixed-rate unsecured corporate debt.

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Executive Brian Harris acknowledged the pride in maintaining book value and confirmed he expects to add at least $1 billion in new loans in 2025, significantly outpacing recent origination volumes. He detailed the strategy of rotating capital from lower-yielding cash and securities into higher-yielding loans, targeting an unlevered return around 8.5%. He added that leverage could increase the return on their AAA securities portfolio to 11%, providing another attractive deployment option.

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CEO Brian Harris confirmed Ladder would likely continue buybacks, noting over $40 million in remaining authorization and an 'embarrassment of riches' in liquidity. Regarding the dividend, Harris stated he would be more open to an increase in Q1 or Q2 2025, pending a consistent pickup in the loan portfolio. He affirmed that returning capital via both stock purchases and dividend increases could 'absolutely' happen at the same time.

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CEO Willy Walker confirmed that no business lines were exited and the expenses were related to removing underperforming producers. He explained that the elevated operating expense ratio (around 60%) is directly tied to transaction volumes and that achieving the 2025 goal of $200 million in average production per broker would bring that ratio back down to the target 48-50% range.

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Chairman and CEO Willy Walker clarified that the strong Fannie Mae volume was from standard deal flow, not a few mega-deals, and noted that servicing fees were compressed as a result. He added that both GSEs became more active in the second half of the year. Regarding the business model, Mr. Walker asserted that the company is never 'complete' and must continuously evolve its scale and service offerings to compete effectively, reaffirming a commitment to focused investment and outperformance.

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CFO Greg Florkowski explained the difference is due to the business mix, as a large portion of revenue comes from the stable SAM (Servicing and Asset Management) segment, which isn't immediately impacted by quarterly transaction volumes. CEO Willy Walker added a key detail: a specific large transaction was won with a highly competitive, lower-than-normal fee, which skewed the volume-to-revenue metric for the quarter. On GSE policy, Walker shared insights from conversations with political contacts, suggesting a desire to move the GSEs out of conservatorship without major market disruption, likely via administrative action in 2026 or 2027, after tax policy is addressed in 2025.

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Doug Bouquard, an executive, explained that the current market offers a better entry point with less 'proceeds creep,' as loans are generally staying below the 70% loan-to-value threshold. He noted that higher borrowing costs have made borrowers more disciplined. Bouquard also highlighted that TRTX's recent CRE CLO was executed at tight spreads, which now allows the company to deploy capital at wider loan spreads, consistently generating gross ROEs in the low to mid-teens range.

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Executive Robert Foley, while not providing specific guidance, indicated significant growth in net earning assets is expected, as deploying existing liquidity could generate $800M to $1B in new loans, with originations likely to outpace repayments. Executive Doug Bouquard clarified that the larger Q4 loans were diversified portfolios and that TRTX's average loan size is closer to $75 million. He explained that the company has the flexibility to operate across the middle and upper-middle market, handling loans from $25 million to over $150 million, often with repeat institutional borrowers.

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Executive Doug Bouquard explained that while he could not provide forward guidance, the company has multiple levers for growth, including deploying balance sheet cash, recycling capital from REO sales, and utilizing untapped financing capacity. He noted that attractive loan-on-loan financing is abundant. Regarding the capital mix, he confirmed that he and Robert Foley are constantly evaluating all efficient financing options, including the corporate debt market, and will use every tool available as they increase leverage.

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President Michael Comparato highlighted the acquisition's logic in creating a "cradle-to-grave" capital provider, offering construction, bridge, CMBS, and agency loans. He asserted that almost no competitors have this complete product set, especially agency lenders that have struggled to build a balance sheet business. He believes the combined entity will become the "most interesting provider of capital in the multifamily sector."

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CEO Richard Byrne stated that while the current vintage of new loans is highly attractive, the company has significant capacity for growth without increasing leverage, citing $350 million in cash and liquidity from cycling through REO assets. He reiterated the company's target leverage range. President Michael Comparato added that loan demand is already "massive" and that a drop in the Fed funds rate, while helpful, is not a panacea for legacy loan issues across the industry.

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Executive Stuart Rothstein detailed that ARI established its European presence over a decade ago, building a full-scale origination and asset management team in London. Chief Investment Officer Scott Weiner, speaking from London, added that ARI has a first-mover advantage and benefits from structural market differences, such as a less active securitization market, which creates a competitive advantage for larger deals. He confirmed all foreign currency exposure is hedged back to U.S. dollars.

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CIO Scott Weiner and executive Stuart Rothstein confirmed that portfolio growth of $0.5 billion to $1.0 billion is 'absolutely' feasible due to a large pipeline and abundant back-leverage capital. Rothstein added that market activity is increasing, with investors coming 'off the sidelines' to deploy fresh capital into new projects, particularly in multifamily, industrial, and data centers, indicating a shift beyond simple refinancings. Weiner noted that about a quarter of the platform's lending last year was for acquisitions.

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CFO Tony Marone advised looking to the CECL reserves on 5-rated loans, which are in the mid-20% range, as a more accurate indicator for potential losses. CEO Katharine Keenan affirmed the stock is an attractive capital deployment option, noting the company has $90 million remaining on its buyback authorization and significant overall liquidity.

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CEO Katie Keenan clarified the figures, stating that post-quarter end, they have closed or are closing on ~$500 million of resolutions and have firm visibility on another ~$600 million. This is relative to the ~$2.3 billion of impaired loans on the books (net of reserves). She noted that while they aim to close these in Q4, some could slip into Q1, and that the REO asset impact is not meaningful to the overall numbers.

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CEO Katie Keenan explained that capital allocation is driven by relative value, and while the portfolio might see a 'local decline' from high repayments, the focus is on redeploying capital. She clarified the M&T deal is a strategic partnership, not a path to acquisition, viewing it as the most accretive model for BXMT.

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CEO Richard Mack stated that while levered returns on new loans are similar to the past, the risk profile is much better due to higher-quality assets, better sponsors, and more conservative business plans at lower values. Regarding buyers, he confirmed they are primarily private capital, including funds whose patience is waning, leading to more aggressive bids. Priyanka Garg, EVP, added that family offices and high-net-worth individuals are also active and aggressive buyers, providing certainty of execution.

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