Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk is the exposure to loss due to factors that affect the overall performance of the financial markets such as changes in interest rates, availability of capital, equity prices, real estate values and credit ratings. The primary market risks that we are exposed to are capital markets risk, real estate values, credit risk and interest rate risk.
Capital Markets Risk. We are exposed to the risks related to the equity and debt capital markets and our ability to raise capital or finance our business operations through these markets. As a REIT, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT-taxable income annually, which significantly limits our ability to accumulate operating cash flow and, therefore, requires us to utilize the equity and debt capital markets to finance our business. To mitigate this risk, we monitor both the equity and debt capital markets to make informed decisions on the amount, timing, type and terms of the capital we raise.
Real Estate Values and Credit Risk. Commercial mortgage assets may be viewed as exposing an investor to greater risk of loss than residential mortgage assets since such assets are typically secured by larger loans to fewer obligors than residential mortgage assets. Multifamily and commercial property values, net operating income derived from such properties, and borrowers’ credit ratings are subject to volatility and may be negatively affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, events such as natural disasters and pandemics, acts of war, terrorism, local economic and/or real estate conditions (such as industry slowdowns, oversupply of real estate space, occupancy rates, construction delays and costs) and other macroeconomic factors beyond our control. The performance and value of our loan and investment and servicing portfolios depend on the borrowers’ ability to operate the properties that serve as collateral so that they produce adequate cash flow to pay their loans. We attempt to mitigate these risks through our underwriting and asset management processes. Our asset management team reviews our portfolios consistently and is in regular contact with borrowers to monitor the performance of the collateral and enforce our rights as necessary.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations, and other factors beyond our control.
The operating results of our Structured Business depend in large part on differences between the income from our loans and our borrowing costs. Most of our Structured Business loans and borrowings are variable-rate instruments, that are currently based on SOFR as we continue to transition away from LIBOR (collectively referred to as the “Index Rates” below). The objective of this strategy is to minimize the impact of interest rate changes on our net interest income. We also have various fixed rate loans in our portfolio that are financed with variable rate borrowings. Additionally, loans are sometimes extended and, consequently, do not pay off on their original maturity dates. If a loan is extended, our exposure to interest rate risk may be increased. In these instances, we could have a fixed rate loan financed with variable debt with no corresponding hedge, which may result in debt which is unprotected from interest rate risk. Some of our loans and borrowings are subject to interest rate floors. As a result, the impact of a change in interest rates may be different on our interest income than on our interest expense. We have utilized interest rate swaps in the past to limit interest rate risk. Derivatives are used for hedging purposes rather than speculation. We do not enter into financial instruments for trading purposes.
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The following table projects the potential impact on interest (in thousands) for a 12-month period, assuming hypothetical instantaneous increases of 50 basis points and 100 basis points in the Index Rates. Since it is unlikely that the Index Rates will decrease in the near future as a result of the current economic environment, we have excluded the impact of decreases in the Index Rates.
Assets (Liabilities)
Subject to Interest
50 Basis Point
100 Basis Point
Rate Sensitivity (1)
Increase
Increase
Interest income from loans and investments
$
14,456,123
$
69,844
$
139,688
Interest expense from debt obligations
(13,277,196)
57,989
115,978
Impact to net interest income (2)
$
11,855
$
23,710
(1)
Represents the UPB of our loan portfolio and the principal balance of our debt.
(2)
The impact of hypothetical rate changes to net interest income are further benefited by interest income earned on our cash, restricted cash and escrow balances. At December 31, 2022, we had $2.50 billion of cash, restricted cash and escrows, which is earning interest at a weighted average rate of approximately 3.75%, or approximately $94 million annually. The interest rates on these balances are not indexed to an Index Rate and are negotiated periodically with each corresponding bank, therefore, the interest rates may not change in conjunction with changes in Index Rates.
We enter into interest rate swaps to hedge our exposure to changes in interest rates inherent in (1) our held-for-sale Agency Business Private Label loans from the time the loans are rate locked until sale and securitization, and (2) our Agency Business SFR – fixed rate loans from the time the loans are originated until the time they can be financed with match term fixed rate securitized debt. Our interest rate swaps are tied to the five-year and ten-year swap rates and hedge our exposure to Private Label loans, until the time they are securitized, and changes in the fair value of our held-for-sale Agency Business SFR – fixed rate loans. A 50 basis point and a 100 basis point increase to the five-year and ten-year swap rates on our interest rate swaps held at December 31, 2022 would have resulted in a gain of $5.0 million and $10.0 million, respectively, in 2022, while a 50 basis point and a 100 basis point decrease in the rates would have resulted in a loss of $5.0 million and $10.0 million, respectively.
Our Agency Business originates, sells and services a range of multifamily finance products with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD. Our loans held-for-sale to these agencies are not currently exposed to interest rate risk during the loan commitment, closing and delivery process. The sale or placement of each loan to an investor is negotiated prior to closing on the loan with the borrower, and the sale or placement is generally effectuated within 60 days of closing. The coupon rate for the loan is set after we establish the interest rate with the investor.
In addition, the fair value of our MSRs is subject to market risk since a significant driver of the fair value of these assets is the discount rates. A 100 basis point increase in the weighted average discount rate would decrease the fair value of our MSRs by $18.0 million at December 31, 2022, while a 100 basis point decrease would increase the fair value by $19.1 million.
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