Natasha Seemungal
About Natasha Seemungal
Senior Vice President and Co-Controller at MFA Financial. Appointed Co-Controller in December 2021; joined MFA in 2009 as an Accounting Analyst and progressed to Assistant Controller before her current role. Education: B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from St. John’s University College of Business Administration. Age 40 per 2025 proxy. Context on company performance during her tenure: MFA delivered 2023 total shareholder return of 30.7% and improved 2024 operating metrics with Adjusted GAAP ROAE of 13.73% and Adjusted Distributable Earnings ROAE of 12.53% (used in NEO incentive plans) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| MFA Financial, Inc. | Accounting Analyst → Assistant Controller | 2009–prior to Dec 2021 | Built core accounting and reporting processes supporting mortgage REIT operations . |
| MFA Financial, Inc. | Senior Vice President and Co-Controller | Dec 2021–present | Co-leads controllership; supports reporting, controls, and finance infrastructure as company expanded non-mark-to-market financing and securitizations . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Estée Lauder Companies | Early-career accounting | Prior to 2009 | Foundation in corporate accounting before entering mortgage finance . |
Fixed Compensation
- Individual base salary and cash compensation for Ms. Seemungal are not disclosed; MFA’s Summary Compensation Table covers Named Executive Officers only (CEO, President/CIO, CFO, General Counsel, SVP Loan Ops, former Co-CIO) .
Performance Compensation
- MFA’s performance incentive framework (for NEOs) combines formulaic ROAE-based metrics and a discretionary “IRM Bonus” reflecting risk management and individual performance; non-NEO executives have discretionary bonuses guided by similar company performance constructs (CFO/GC examples), but Ms. Seemungal’s specific metrics and payouts are not disclosed .
Company framework (NEO 2024 illustration):
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout vs Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted GAAP ROAE | 30% of formulaic bonus | 9.25% | 13.73% | 166.4% . |
| Adjusted Distributable Earnings ROAE | 30% of formulaic bonus | 9.25% | 12.53% | 181.9% . |
| Relative DE ROAE percentile (REM peer set) | 40% of formulaic bonus | 50th percentile | 81.8th percentile | 200% . |
| Discretionary IRM Bonus | 25% of overall target bonus | Committee set | Committee assessed leadership and risk mgmt | Determined case-by-case for NEOs . |
Vesting constructs for long-term equity (NEOs):
- TRSUs: 3-year cliff vest; dividend equivalents paid during vesting (2024 grants) .
- PRSUs: 60% of LTI value; 3-year cliff; two components—Absolute TSR vs 8% simple TSR and Relative TSR vs REM constituents; vest 0–200% of target; dividend equivalents accrue and settle in shares if vest .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Individual beneficial ownership, vested/unvested equity, and any pledged shares for Ms. Seemungal are not disclosed in the Security Ownership table (directors and NEOs only are itemized) .
- MFA prohibits pledging and hedging of company securities for all employees and executives; insider trading policy also bars margin accounts for MFA securities .
- Stock retention/ownership guidelines (4× salary threshold) apply to certain NEOs; applicability to Ms. Seemungal is not specified .
Employment Terms
- Employment agreements are currently disclosed for the CEO and President/CIO; severance agreements disclosed for CFO and General Counsel; Ms. Seemungal’s individual employment contract terms (e.g., non-compete, severance) are not disclosed in the proxy .
- Company clawback policy (three-year lookback for material restatements) applies broadly to performance-based compensation; award agreements include forfeiture/recoupment for covenant breaches .
Investment Implications
- Disclosure gap: As a non-NEO executive, detailed compensation, equity holdings, and severance/change-of-control terms for Ms. Seemungal are not provided publicly, limiting direct pay-for-performance and trading signal analysis tied to her personal incentives .
- Alignment safeguards: Company-wide prohibitions on hedging/pledging and established clawback and equity plan governance mitigate misalignment risk and reduce forced selling pressure from collateralized positions .
- Company performance context: Strong ROAE metrics used for NEO incentives (and discretionary frameworks guiding senior executives) suggest an organizational emphasis on risk-adjusted returns and TSR—positive for execution quality across finance functions she co-leads .
- Monitoring: Track Item 5.02 8-Ks for role changes/compensatory arrangements and future proxies for any elevation to NEO status that would unlock full compensation and ownership disclosures .