UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the year ended December 31, 2022
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
Commission file number 001-34057
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
_________________________________________________________
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
(Address of principal executive offices)
(301 ) 968-9315
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
_________________________________________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Exchange on Which Registered | ||||||||||||
Redeemable Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý No ¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller Reporting Company | ||||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No x
As of June 30, 2022, the aggregate market value of the Registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $4.8 billion based upon the closing price of the Registrant's common stock of $11.07 per share as reported on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on that date. (For this computation, the Registrant has excluded the market value of all shares of its common stock reported as beneficially owned by executive officers and directors of the Registrant and certain other stockholders; such an exclusion shall not be deemed to constitute an admission that any such person is an "affiliate" of the Registrant.)
The number of shares of the issuer's common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding as of February 9, 2023 was 574,656,885 .
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. The information required by Part III will be incorporated by reference from the Registrant's definitive proxy statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A.
Certain exhibits previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated by reference into Part IV of this report.
AGNC INVESTMENT CORP.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Item 1. | Business | |||||||
Item 5. | Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities | |||||||
Item 6. | Selected Financial Data | |||||||
Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure | |||||||
PART III. | ||||||||
Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance | |||||||
Item 11. | Executive Compensation | |||||||
Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters | |||||||
Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence | |||||||
Item 14. | Principal Accounting Fees and Services | |||||||
PART IV. | ||||||||
1
PART I.
Item 1. Business
AGNC Investment Corp. ("AGNC," the "Company," "we," "us" and "our") was organized on January 7, 2008 and commenced operations on May 20, 2008 following the completion of our initial public offering. Our common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "AGNC."
We are a leading provider of private capital to the U.S. housing market, enhancing liquidity in the residential real estate mortgage markets and, in turn, facilitating home ownership in the U.S. We invest primarily in Agency residential mortgage-backed securities ("Agency RMBS") on a leveraged basis. These investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a U.S. Government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac," and together with Fannie Mae, the "GSEs"), or by a U.S. Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae"). We may also invest in other assets related to the housing, mortgage or real estate markets that are not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency.
We operate to qualify to be taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"). As a REIT, we are required to distribute annually 90% of our taxable income, and we will generally not be subject to U.S. federal or state corporate income tax to the extent that we distribute all our annual taxable income to our stockholders on a timely basis. It is our intention to distribute 100% of our taxable income within the time limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code, which may extend into the subsequent taxable year.
We are internally managed with the principal objective of providing our stockholders with favorable long-term returns on a risk-adjusted basis through attractive monthly dividends. We generate income from the interest earned on our investments, net of associated borrowing and hedging costs, and net realized gains and losses on our investment and hedging activities. We fund our investments primarily through collateralized borrowings structured as repurchase agreements.
Investment Strategy
Our investment strategy is intended to:
•generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders through monthly dividend distributions;
•manage an investment portfolio consisting primarily of Agency securities;
•invest a subset of the portfolio in credit-oriented securities that are not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency and other assets related to the housing, mortgage or real estate markets;
•capitalize on discrepancies in the relative valuations in the Agency and non-Agency securities market;
•manage financing, interest rate, prepayment, extension and credit risks;
•continue to qualify as a REIT; and
•remain exempt from the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Investment Company Act").
Targeted Investments
Agency Securities
•Agency Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities. Our primary investments consist of Agency pass-through certificates representing interests in "pools" of mortgage loans secured by residential real property. Monthly payments of principal and interest made by the individual borrowers on the mortgage loans underlying the pools are in effect "passed through" to the security holders, after deducting guarantee and servicer fees. In general, mortgage pass-through certificates distribute cash flows from the underlying collateral on a pro rata basis among the security holders. Security holders also receive guarantor advances of principal and interest for delinquent loans in the mortgage pools. We may also invest in Agency collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"), which are structured instruments backed by a pool of Agency mortgage-backed securities.
•To-Be-Announced Forward Contracts ("TBAs"). TBAs are forward contracts to purchase or sell Agency RMBS in the TBA market. TBA contracts specify the coupon rate, issuer, term and face value of the bonds to be delivered, with the actual bonds to be delivered only identified shortly before the TBA settlement date.
Non-Agency Securities
•Credit Risk Transfer ("CRT") Securities. CRT securities are risk sharing instruments that transfer a portion of the risk associated with credit losses within pools of conventional residential mortgage loans from the GSEs and/or third-
2
parties to private investors. Full repayment of the original principal balance of CRT securities is not guaranteed by the GSE or other third-party; rather, "credit risk transfer" is achieved by writing down the outstanding principal balance of the CRT security if credit losses on the related pool of loans exceed certain thresholds.
•Non-Agency Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities ("Non-Agency RMBS"). Non-Agency RMBS are structured securities backed by pools of residential mortgages packaged and issued by private institutions, such as a commercial bank or non-bank lender. Certain tranches of non-Agency RMBS may benefit from credit enhancement derived from structural elements, such as subordination, over-collateralization or insurance. We may purchase investment grade instruments that benefit from credit enhancement and non-investment grade instruments that are structured to absorb more credit risk. We focus primarily on non-Agency securities where the underlying mortgages are secured by residential properties within the United States, which may be comprised of prime, non-prime, qualified and non-qualified mortgage loans.
•Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities ("CMBS"). CMBS are securities backed by a pool of loans secured by one or more commercial properties. CMBS may also consist of a single loan for a single asset or multiple loans for a group of cross-collateralized assets of a single-borrower. CMBS are typically structured as multiple classes of securities where cash flows are distributed following a predetermined waterfall, which may give priority to selected classes while subordinating other classes. We may invest across the capital structure of these securities. We intend to focus on CMBS where the underlying collateral is secured by commercial properties located within the United States.
Active Portfolio Management Strategy
We employ an active management strategy designed to achieve our principal objectives of generating attractive risk-adjusted returns and managing our tangible net book value within reasonable bands. As part of our investment strategy, we use leverage on our investment portfolio to increase potential returns to our stockholders. We invest in securities based on our assessment of their relative risk-return profiles and our ability to effectively hedge a portion of the securities' exposure to market risks. The composition of our portfolio and the strategies we use will vary based on our view of prevailing market conditions and the availability of suitable investment, hedging and funding opportunities.
Financing Strategy
We finance our investment portfolio primarily through collateralized borrowings structured as repurchase agreements ("repo"). Repurchase agreements involve the sale and a simultaneous agreement to repurchase the transferred assets at a future date. Our borrowings through repurchase transactions are generally short-term and have maturities ranging from one day to one year but may have maturities up to five or more years. Our financing rates are primarily impacted by short-term benchmark rates and liquidity in the Agency repo and short-term funding markets.
The amount of leverage that we utilize depends on market conditions, our assessment of risk and returns and our ability to borrow sufficient funds on favorable terms to acquire mortgage securities. We generally expect our leverage to be within six to twelve times the amount of our tangible stockholders' equity, but under certain conditions we may operate at leverage levels outside of this range.
We diversify our funding exposure by entering into repurchase agreements with multiple counterparties. We finance a portion of our investments through our wholly-owned captive broker-dealer subsidiary, Bethesda Securities, LLC ("BES"). BES is a member of the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation ("FICC") and has direct access to bilateral and tri-party repo funding as a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") member broker-dealer. As an eligible institution, BES also raises repo funding through the General Collateral Finance ("GCF") Repo service offered by the FICC, with the FICC acting as the central counterparty. Thus, through BES, we have greater depth and diversity of funding than solely through traditional bilateral repo, while also lowering our funding cost, reducing our collateral requirements and limiting our counterparty exposure.
We also finance the acquisition of Agency RMBS by entering into TBA dollar roll transactions through which we simultaneously sell a TBA contract for the current month's settlement date and purchase a similar TBA contract for a forward month's settlement date. The TBA contract purchased for the forward settlement date is typically priced at a discount to the TBA contract sold for the current month. The discount, or "price drop", is the economic equivalent of interest income on the underlying Agency RMBS, less an implied financing cost, between the current month and forward month settlement dates. Prior to the forward settlement date, we may choose to roll the position to a later date by entering into an offsetting TBA position, net settling the paired off positions for cash, and simultaneously entering into a similar TBA contract for a new forward settlement date. Hence the discount or price drop from rolling TBA positions forward is commonly referred to as "TBA dollar roll income." We recognize TBA contracts as derivative instruments on our consolidated financial statements at their net carrying value, which is their fair value less the purchase price to be paid or received under the TBA contract. Consequently,
3
dollar roll transactions represent a form of off-balance sheet financing. In evaluating our overall leverage, we consider both our on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet financing.
Risk Management Strategy
We are exposed to a variety of market risks, including interest rate, prepayment, extension, spread and credit risks. Our investment strategies are based on our assessment of these risks, our ability to hedge a portion of these risks and our intention to qualify as a REIT. Our hedging strategies are generally not designed to protect our net book value from spread risk, which as a levered investor in mortgage-backed securities is the inherent risk we take that the spread between the market yield on our investments and the benchmark interest rates linked to our interest rate hedges fluctuates. In addition, although we attempt to protect our net book value against moves in interest rates, we may not fully hedge against interest rate, prepayment and extension risks if we believe that bearing such risks enhances our return profile, or if the hedging transaction would negatively impact our REIT status. Our risk management actions may lower our earnings and dividends in the short-term to further our objective of preserving our net book value and maintaining attractive levels of earnings and dividends over the long-term. In addition, some of our hedges are intended to provide protection against larger rate moves and as a result may be relatively ineffective for smaller interest rate changes. For additional explanation of our market risks please refer to Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk and Item 1A. Risk Factors within this Form 10-K.
Regulatory Requirements
Exemption from Regulation under the Investment Company Act
We conduct our business so as not to become regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, in reliance on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Act. So long as we qualify for this exemption, we will not be subject to leverage and other restrictions imposed on registered investment companies, which would significantly reduce our ability to use leverage. Section 3(c)(5)(C), as interpreted by the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), requires us to invest at least 55% of our assets in "mortgages and other liens on and interest in real estate" or "qualifying real estate interests" ("55% asset test") and at least 80% of our assets in qualifying real estate interests and "real estate-related assets." In satisfying this 55% requirement, based on pronouncements of the SEC staff and in certain instances our own judgment, we treat Agency RMBS issued with respect to an underlying pool of mortgage loans in which we hold all the certificates issued by the pool ("whole pool" securities) as qualifying real estate interests. We typically treat "partial pool" and other mortgage securities where we hold less than all the certificates issued by the pool as real estate-related assets. For additional information regarding our exemption under the Investment Company Act please refer to Item 1A. Risk Factors within this Form 10-K.
Real Estate Investment Trust Requirements
We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal or state corporate income tax on our taxable income to the extent that we distribute annually all our taxable income to stockholders within the time limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code. Qualification and taxation as a REIT depend on our ability to continually meet requirements imposed upon REITs by the Internal Revenue Code, including satisfying certain organizational requirements, an annual distribution requirement and quarterly asset and annual income tests. The REIT asset and income tests are significant to our operations as they restrict the extent to which we can invest in certain types of securities and conduct certain hedging activities within the REIT. Consequently, we may be required to limit these activities or conduct them through a taxable REIT subsidiary ("TRS"). We believe that we have been organized and operate in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT.
Income Tests:
To continue to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy two gross income requirements on an annual basis.
1.At least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year generally must be derived from investments in real property or mortgages on real property.
2.At least 95% of our gross income in each taxable year generally must be derived from some combination of income that qualifies under the 75% gross income test described above, as well as other dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or disposition of stock or securities, which need not have any relation to real property.
Interest income from obligations secured by mortgages on real property (such as Agency and non-Agency MBS) generally constitutes qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test described above. There is no direct authority with respect to the qualification of income or gains from TBAs for the 75% gross income test; however, we treat these as qualifying income for this purpose based on an opinion of legal counsel. The treatment of interest income from other real estate
4
securities depends on their specific tax structure. Income and gains from instruments that we use to hedge the interest rate risk associated with our borrowings incurred, or to be incurred, to acquire real estate assets will generally be excluded from both gross income tests, provided that specified requirements are met.
Asset Tests:
At the close of each calendar quarter, we must satisfy five tests relating to the nature of our assets.
1.At least 75% of the value of our total assets must be represented by some combination of "real estate assets," cash, cash items, U.S. Government securities, and, under some circumstances, temporary investments in stock or debt instruments purchased with new capital. For this purpose, mortgage-backed securities and mortgage loans are generally treated as "real estate assets." Assets that do not qualify for purposes of the 75% asset test are subject to the additional asset tests described below.
2.The value of any one issuer's securities that we own may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets.
3.We may not own more than 10% of any one issuer's outstanding securities, as measured by either voting power or value. The 5% and 10% asset tests do not apply to securities of TRSs and qualified REIT subsidiaries and the 10% asset test does not apply to "straight debt" having specified characteristics and to certain other securities.
4.The aggregate value of all securities of all TRSs that we hold may not exceed 20% of the value of our total assets.
5.No more than 25% of the total value of our assets may be represented by certain non-mortgage debt instruments issued by publicly offered REITs (even though such debt instruments qualify under the 75% asset test).
A failure to satisfy the income or asset tests would not immediately cause us to lose our REIT qualification; rather, we could retain our REIT qualification if we were able to satisfy certain relief provisions and pay any applicable penalty taxes and other fines, or, in the case of a failure to satisfy the asset test, eliminate the discrepancy within a 30-day cure period. Please also refer to the "Risks Related to Our Taxation as a REIT" in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of this Form 10-K for further discussion of REIT qualification requirements and related items.
Regulatory Requirements of our Captive Broker-Dealer Subsidiary
BES is subject to ongoing membership and regulatory requirements as a member of the FICC and FINRA and as a registered broker-dealer that include but are not limited to trade practices, use and safekeeping of funds and securities, capital structure, recordkeeping and conduct of directors, officers and employees. Additionally, as a self-clearing, registered broker-dealer, BES is subject to minimum net capital requirements. Thus, our ability to access tri-party repo funding through the FICC's GCF Repo service, which represents a significant portion of our total borrowing capacity, is reliant on BES' ability to continually meet FINRA and FICC regulatory and membership requirements.
Human Capital Management
We believe our success as a company ultimately depends on the strength, wellness, and dedication of our workforce. We pride ourselves on robust practices in the area of human capital management that are constantly evolving to meet the needs of our people. As of December 31, 2022, our workforce consisted of 51 full-time employees. We strive to provide each of our highly skilled employees an engaging, rewarding, supportive, and inclusive atmosphere in which to grow professionally. Our competitive and comprehensive benefits package is carefully designed to attract and retain talented personnel. We believe our low voluntary employee turnover and favorable employee survey results are a testament to the success of our human capital management initiatives.
| Employee Turnover Metrics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | January 1 | Terminations 1 | New Hires | December 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 50 | -2 | 3 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 50 | -2 | 2 | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 51 | -1 | 0 | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
________________________________
1.Employee terminations include voluntary and involuntary terminations.
Employee Communications and Engagement
We recognize the importance of ongoing open communication and engagement with our employees, and we greatly value their input. We regularly engage with our employees in a variety of ways through ongoing direct engagement with each member of our staff, anonymous annual employee surveys and regular town hall meetings. Our anonymous employee surveys
5
are an important component of our employee engagement that provide a means of assessing job satisfaction, engagement, and specific concerns of our employees. To enhance the candor and comfort of our employees, we use outside vendors that provide verbatim comments and analysis of engagement levels on an anonymous basis. In 2021, AGNC received the Great Place to Work™ certification in recognition of employee engagement efforts. The prestigious certification was based entirely on feedback from employees through an extensive anonymous survey about their experiences working at AGNC, during which 98% of our employees said AGNC is a great place to work. Our Board and management use the results of our surveys and ongoing feedback to implement various ideas and recommendations received from employees.
Workplace Culture and Ethics
Our corporate culture promotes open and honest communication, fair treatment, collegiality and high ethics and compliance standards. Our Code of Ethics and Conduct ("Code of Conduct") applies to all directors, officers and employees and provides clear expectations and guidance to facilitate appropriate decisioning. Our Code of Conduct covers topics such as compliance with securities laws, conflicts of interest, giving and receiving gifts, discrimination, harassment, privacy, appropriate use of Company assets, protecting confidential information, and reporting Code of Conduct violations (including through an anonymous third-party hotline). All employees are required to affirm their understanding of these standards on at least an annual basis. In 2022, we conducted mandatory compliance training on the Code of Conduct, insider trading, whistleblower protections and anti-harassment. Our executive officers and human resources department maintain "open door" policies, and any form of retaliation for bona fide reporting of Code of Conduct violations is expressly prohibited.
Employee Development
We have a number of policies and programs to further the professional development of our employees. These include our professional certification and continuing education policy, reimbursement for any supervisor-approved courses for our employees, and memberships to organizations, such as the Mortgage Bankers Association, which includes free access to educational webinars. We also conduct periodic "Lunch and Learn" seminars and offer a formal mentoring program for employees to receive direct one-on-one career guidance and cross-functional experience across various operations. Our employees also have the opportunity to lead and/or participate in employee-led initiatives, such as our employee-led Volunteerism & Community Outreach Committee, which is responsible for implementing and leading new volunteer opportunities, as well as identifying ways the Company can have a positive impact on the community. These initiatives have advanced unique and professional skill sets throughout the organization.
Diversity and Inclusion
Central to our core values is that every individual deserves respect and equal treatment, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious belief. We strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive and welcoming work environment that is free from wrongful discrimination. We have long maintained policies against discrimination and harassment in our workplace, and we periodically conduct workplace trainings and workshops attended by all employees related to these topics, including unconscious bias and anti-harassment training. Although we have a relatively small workforce and low turnover rate, our recruitment and hiring practices attempt to ensure the diversity of applicant pools for posted job openings. We also seek to engage our employees and provide them opportunities on a non-discriminatory and inclusive basis. As of December 31, 2022, 39% of our employees were women and 31% were ethnically diverse.
Compensation and Benefits
We seek to attract and retain the most talented employees in our industry by offering competitive compensation and benefits. Our pay-for-performance compensation philosophy is based on rewarding each employee’s individual contributions through a combination of fixed and variable pay elements. Each employee receives a total compensation package that includes base salary, short-term incentives in the form of an annual cash bonus and long-term equity incentives in the form of time-vesting and/or performance-vesting restricted stock units. The proportion of each employee’s variable incentive versus fixed-based elements of their compensation is directly correlated to the individual’s level of responsibility and role in the organization. Generally, higher level employees have higher proportions of variable incentive-based compensation in their target mix. Similarly, within the incentive-based elements, the proportion of long-term incentive-based elements generally corresponds to the individual’s role and level of responsibility in the organization.
As the success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people, we offer benefits that support their physical, financial and emotional well-being. We provide our employees with access to flexible, comprehensive and convenient medical coverage intended to meet their needs and the needs of their families. In addition to standard medical coverage, we offer employees dental and vision coverage, health savings and flexible spending accounts, paid time off, parental leave and adoption assistance, voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance, term life insurance, employee assistance
6
programs, and other benefits. We also believe in the long-term financial wellness of our employees, and to foster maximum savings rates by our employees we offer a 401(k) Savings Plan with Company matching contributions of 100% up to 6% of each employee’s eligible compensation, subject to IRS limits.
COVID-19; Workforce Safety; and Hybrid Work Model
To protect the health and safety of our workforce, during the COVID-19 pandemic (the "Pandemic" or "COVID-19"), we shifted to a fully remote work-from-home environment prior to any jurisdiction’s mandate to do so. Based in part on employee survey results conducted after the onset of the Pandemic, in 2021, we commenced a gradual return to in-office work, with employees having the choice to work in the office subject to safety protocols or to continue working remotely. In 2022, we implemented a hybrid model through which employees are able to split hours between the office and remote work. We hold regular town hall meetings (typically quarterly) to ensure sufficient company-wide communication with our workforce in light of our hybrid working model.
Competition
Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to acquire assets at favorable spreads over our borrowing costs. In acquiring mortgage assets, we compete with a variety of other investors, including other mortgage REITs, government entities, banks, specialty finance companies, public and private funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions, who may have competitive advantages over us as to the price they are willing to pay due to factors such as a lower cost of funds, access to funding sources not available to us or a lack of REIT and Investment Company Act regulatory constraints.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at Two Bethesda Metro Center, 12th Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814 and our telephone number is (301) 968-9315.
We make available our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to such reports as well as our Code of Ethics and Conduct on our internet website at www.AGNC.com. These reports are also available on the SEC internet website at www.sec.gov.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the risks described below and all other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto before deciding to purchase our securities. Any of the following risks could materially affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. If that happens, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or not presently deemed material by us, may also impair our operations and performance. Our risk factors discussed below are classified among:
•risks related to our investment and portfolio management activities;
•risks related to our financing and hedging activities;
•risks related to our business operations;
•legislative and regulatory risks; and
•risks related to our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Investment and Portfolio Management Activities
Spread risk is inherent to our business as a levered investor in Agency RMBS.
When the market spread between the yield on our assets and the yield on benchmark interest rates linked to our interest rate hedges widens, our tangible net book value will typically decline. We refer to this as "spread risk". As a levered investor primarily in fixed-rate Agency RMBS, spread risk is an inherent component of our business. Although we use hedging instruments to attempt to protect against moves in interest rates, our hedges will typically not protect us against spread risk. Spreads may widen due to numerous factors, including due to actual or expected monetary policy actions by U.S. and foreign central banks, increased market volatility, a decline in market liquidity and changes in investor return requirements and sentiment.
The Fed’s participation in the Agency mortgage market could have an adverse effect on our Agency RMBS investments.
The Federal Reserve (the "Fed") first used large-scale asset purchases of U.S. Treasury securities and Agency RMBS, known as quantitative easing, or QE, during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis in an attempt to stabilize financial markets
7
and stimulate a sustained economic recovery. In its most recent QE round, resulting from the Covid-19 financial crisis, the Fed’s balance sheet more than doubled from $4.2 trillion in March 2020 to $8.9 trillion in May 2022, with its holdings of Agency RMBS increasing to nearly a third of all outstanding Agency RMBS, when it announced that it would begin to reduce its holdings over time by not reinvesting proceeds of principal repayments, subject to monthly caps.
The Fed's participation in the Agency RMBS market can have a material impact on the mortgage market, altering the available supply, price and returns on Agency RMBS. Its involvement in the mortgage market can result in increased market volatility and amplify the effects of market related risks on our financial condition. Generally, when the Fed conducts large-scale asset purchases, Agency RMBS values increase and mortgage spreads tighten, benefiting our tangible net book value, while the return potential on new asset purchases typically declines. Conversely, actual or anticipated reductions of Fed asset purchases or its outright sale of assets, would generally be expected to result in a decline in asset values and wider mortgage spreads to benchmark interest rates, negatively impacting our tangible net book value, while the return potential on new asset purchases would typically increase.
Although the Fed has stated its preference for a passive reduction of its balance sheet through mortgage prepayment activity, there is no guarantee that it will not conduct outright asset sales in the future. Assets sales, or a more rapid unwinding of its balance sheet than anticipated, could result in increased market volatility, reduced liquidity and an increase in Agency RMBS spreads to benchmark interest rates, causing a material decline in our tangible net book and negatively impacting our financial position.
Our active portfolio management strategy may expose us to greater losses and lower returns than compared to passive strategies.
We employ an active management strategy; therefore, the composition of our investment portfolio, leverage ratio and hedge composition will vary as we believe changes to market conditions warrant. We may realize significant investment gains or losses when we sell investments that we no longer believe provide attractive risk-adjusted returns or when we believe more attractive alternatives are available. We may also be incorrect in our assessment of market conditions and select an investment portfolio, leverage levels and terms, and hedge composition that generate lower returns than a more static management strategy. Furthermore, because of our active strategy, investors may be unable to assess changes in our financial position solely by observing changes in the mortgage market.
A decline in the fair value of our assets may adversely affect our financial condition and make it costlier to finance our assets.
Our investment securities are reported at fair value on our consolidated balance sheet, with changes in fair value reported in net income or other comprehensive income. Therefore, a decline in the fair value of our assets reduces our total comprehensive income and adversely affects our financial position. We use our investments as collateral for our financing arrangements and certain hedge transactions; consequently, a decline in fair value, or perceived market uncertainty about the value of our assets, could reduce the amount of our unencumbered assets, subject us to margin calls and could make it more difficult for us to maintain our compliance with the terms of our financing agreements, and it could reduce our ability to purchase additional investments or to renew or replace our existing borrowings as they mature. As a result, we could be required to sell assets at adverse prices and our ability to maintain or grow our total comprehensive income could be reduced.
Asset values can decline for a variety of reasons. Since we primarily invest in long-term fixed rate securities, our investment portfolio is particularly sensitive to changes in longer-term interest rates. A decline in market liquidity can also have a significant impact on asset values and increase price volatility. Numerous factors can reduce market liquidity, including macro-economic conditions, market uncertainty, changes in investor sentiment resulting in redemptions from fixed income funds, a decline in global money flows into U.S. fixed income markets, and regulatory capital requirements that limit banks' and other financial institutions' ability to act as market makers. Fed monetary policy and the unwinding of its balance sheet could also have a negative impact on asset values and market liquidity, especially if the unwinding occurs more rapidly than anticipated.
Changes in prepayment rates may adversely affect the return on our investments.
Our investment portfolio includes securities backed by pools of mortgage loans, which receive payments related to the underlying mortgage loans. When borrowers prepay their mortgage loans at rates faster or slower than anticipated, it exposes us to prepayment or extension risk. Generally, prepayments increase during periods of falling mortgage interest rates and decrease during periods of rising mortgage interest rates, but other factors can also affect the rate of prepayments, including loan age and size, loan-to-value ratios, housing price trends, general economic conditions and GSE buyouts of delinquent loans.
8
If our assets prepay at a faster rate than anticipated, we may be unable to reinvest the repayments at acceptable yields. If the proceeds are reinvested at lower yields than our existing assets, our net interest margins would be negatively impacted. We also amortize or accrete into interest income any premiums and discounts we pay or receive at purchase relative to the stated principal of our assets over their projected lives using the effective interest method. If the actual and estimated future prepayment experience differs from our prior estimates, we are required to record an adjustment to interest income for the impact of the cumulative difference in the effective yield, which could negatively affect our interest income.
If our assets prepay at a slower rate than anticipated, our assets could extend beyond their expected maturity, and we may have to finance our investments at potentially higher costs without the ability to reinvest principal into higher yielding securities. Additionally, if prepayment rates decrease due to a rising interest rate environment, the average life or duration of our fixed-rate assets would extend, but our interest rate swap maturities would remain fixed and, therefore, cover a smaller percentage of our funding exposure. This situation may also cause the market value of our assets to decline, while most of our hedging instruments would not receive any incremental offsetting gains.
To the extent that actual rates of prepayment differ from our expectations, our operating results could be adversely affected, and we could be forced to sell assets to maintain adequate liquidity, which could cause us to incur realized losses. In addition, should significant prepayments occur, there is no certainty that we will be able to identify acceptable new investments, which could reduce our invested capital or result in us investing in less favorable securities.
Prepayment rates are difficult to predict, and market conditions and other factors impacting mortgage origination channels may disrupt the historical correlation between interest rate changes and prepayment trends.
Our success depends in part on our ability to predict prepayment behavior over a variety of economic conditions. As part of our overall portfolio risk management, we analyze interest rate changes and prepayment trends to assess their effects on our investment portfolio. Our analysis is largely based on predictive models and reliance on historical correlations between interest rates and other factors and the rate of prepayments. However, unprecedented events, market dislocations, advances in origination channel technologies and other factors may impair the usefulness of these historical correlations or render them completely invalid, reducing our ability to accurately predict future prepayment activity. Other factors beyond interest rates also impact the rate of prepayments and may be difficult to predict, such as housing turnover, lending conditions and the availability of credit to homeowners, and GSE buyouts of delinquent loans from the underlying mortgage pool.
The analytical models and third-party data that we rely on to manage our portfolio and conduct our business objectives may be incorrect, misleading or incomplete.
We use analytical models, data and other information to value our assets and assess potential investment opportunities in connection with our risk management and hedging activities. We may source our models and data from third-parties or develop them internally. Models are dependent on multiple assumptions and inputs. Models typically also assume a static portfolio. If either the models, their underlying assumptions or data inputs prove to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, any decisions we make in reliance on such information may be faulty and expose us to potential risks.
Many of the analytical models we use are predictive in nature, such as mortgage prepayment and default models. The use of predictive models has inherent risks and may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses. Furthermore, since predictive models are usually constructed based on historical trends using data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models depends heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data. Additionally, multiple factors could disrupt the relationships between data and historical trends, reducing the ability of our models to predict future outcomes, or even render them invalid. We are at greater risk of this occurring during periods of high volatility or unanticipated and/or unprecedented financial or economic events, including any actual or anticipated shifts in Fed policy resulting from these events. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from our projections. Moreover, use of different models could result in materially different projections.
Analytical models and third-party data used to analyze credit sensitive assets also expose us to the risk that the (i) collateral cash flows and/or liability structures may be incorrectly modeled, or may be modeled based on simplifying assumptions that lead to errors; (ii) information about collateral may be incorrect, incomplete or misleading; (iii) collateral or bond historical performance (such as historical prepayments, defaults, cash flows, etc.) may be incorrectly reported, or subject to interpretation (e.g., different issuers may report delinquency statistics based on different definitions of what constitutes a delinquent loan); or (iv) collateral or bond information may be outdated, in which case the models may contain incorrect assumptions as to what has occurred since the date information was last updated.
Models may also include LIBOR as an input. Thus, the transition away from LIBOR may require changes to the models and/or impair the historical relationships patterned within these models as a result of less historical data than is currently available for LIBOR.
9
The fair value of our investments may not be readily determinable or may be materially different from the value that we ultimately realize upon their disposal.
We measure the fair value of our investments in accordance with guidance set forth in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. Fair value is only an estimate based on good faith judgment of the price at which an investment can be sold since market prices of investments can only be determined by negotiation between a willing buyer and seller. Our determination of the fair value of our investments includes inputs provided by pricing services and third-party dealers. Valuations of certain investments in which we invest may be difficult to obtain or unreliable. In general, pricing services and dealers heavily disclaim their valuations and we do not have recourse against them in the event of inaccurate price quotes or other inputs used to determine the fair value of our investments. Depending on the complexity and illiquidity of a security, valuations of the same security can vary substantially from one pricing source to another. Moreover, values can fluctuate significantly, even over short periods of time. For these reasons, the fair value at which our investments are recorded may not be an accurate indication of their realizable value. The ultimate realization of the value of an asset depends on economic and other conditions that are beyond our control. Consequently, if we were to sell an asset, particularly through a forced liquidation, the realized value may be less than the amount at which the asset is recorded, which would negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.
The mortgage loans referenced by our CRT securities or that underlie our non-Agency securities may be or could become subject to delinquency or foreclosure, which could result in significant losses to us.
Investments in credit-oriented securities, such as CRT securities and non-Agency MBS, where repayment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency, subject us to the potential risk of loss of principal and/or interest due to delinquency, foreclosure and related losses on the underlying mortgage loans.
CRT securities are risk sharing instruments issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and similarly structured transactions arranged by third-party market participants, that are designed to synthetically transfer mortgage credit risk from the issuing entity to private investors. The transactions are structured as unguaranteed bonds whose principal payments are determined by the delinquency and prepayment experience of a reference pool of mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. An investor in CRT securities bears the risk that the borrowers in the reference pool of loans may default on their obligations to make full and timely payments of principal and interest.
Residential mortgage loans underlying non-Agency RMBS are secured by residential property and are subject to risks of delinquency, foreclosure and loss. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by residential property is dependent upon the income or assets of the borrower. Many factors could impair a borrower's ability to repay the loan, including loss of employment, divorce, illness, acts of God, acts of war or terrorism, adverse changes in economic and market conditions, changes in laws and regulations, changes in fiscal policies and zoning ordinances, costs of remediation and liabilities associated with environmental conditions such as mold, and the potential for uninsured or under-insured property losses.
Commercial mortgage loans underlying CMBS are generally secured by multifamily or other commercial properties and are subject to risks of delinquency and foreclosure and risks of loss that are greater than similar risks associated with loans made on the security of residential property. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by an income-producing property typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation of such property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. If the net operating income of the property is reduced, the borrower's ability to repay the loan may be impaired. Net operating income of an income producing property can be affected by numerous factors, such as: occupancy rates, tenant mix, success of tenant businesses, property management decisions, property location and condition, changes in economic or operating conditions and other factors.
Geographic concentration of our assets can expose us to greater risk of default and loss. Repayments by borrowers and the market value of the related assets underlying our investments are affected by national as well as local and regional economic and other conditions. As a result, concentrations of investments tied to geographic regions increase the risk that adverse economic conditions or other developments affecting a region could increase the frequency and severity of losses on our investments. Additionally, assets in certain regional areas may be more susceptible to certain hazards (such as earthquakes, widespread fires, rising sea levels, disease, floods, drought, hurricanes and certain climate risks) than properties in other areas; for example, assets located in coastal states may be more susceptible to hurricanes or sea level rise than properties in other parts of the country. Areas affected by these types of events often experience disruptions in travel, transportation and tourism, loss of jobs, a decrease in consumer activity, and a decline in real estate-related investments, and their economies may not recover sufficiently to support income producing real estate at pre-event levels. These types of occurrences may increase over time or become more severe due to changes in weather patterns and other climate changes.
10
Private mortgage insurance may not cover losses on loans referenced by our CRT securities and underlying our non-Agency RMBS.
In certain instances, mortgage loans referenced by our CRT securities or underlying our non-Agency RMBS may have private mortgage insurance. However, this insurance may not cover some or all of our potential loss if a loan defaults. This may occur, for example, because it is frequently structured to absorb only a portion of the loss; the insurance provider rescinds or denies coverage; or the insurer's failure to satisfy its obligations under the insurance contract, whether due to breach of contract or to an insurer's insolvency.
Changes in credit spreads may adversely affect our profitability.
A significant component of the fair value of CRT and non-Agency securities and other credit risk-oriented investments is attributable to the credit spread, or the difference between the value of the credit instrument and the value of a financial instrument with similar interest rate exposure, but with no credit risk, such as a U.S. Treasury note. Credit spreads can be highly volatile and may fluctuate due to changes in economic conditions, liquidity, investor demand and other factors. Credits spreads typically widen in times of increased market uncertainty or when economic conditions have or are expected to deteriorate. Credit spreads may also widen due to actual or anticipated rating downgrades on the securities or similar securities. Hedging fair value changes associated with credit spreads can be inefficient and our hedging strategies are generally not designed to mitigate credit spread risk. Consequently, changes in credit spreads could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition.
We may be unable to acquire desirable investments due to competition, a reduction in the supply of new production Agency RMBS having the specific attributes we seek, and other factors.
Our profitability depends on our ability to acquire our target assets at attractive prices. We may seek assets with specific attributes that affect their propensity for prepayment under certain market conditions or enable us to satisfy asset test requirements to maintain our REIT qualification status or exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act (such as "whole pool" Agency RMBS). The supply of our target assets may be impacted by policies and procedures adopted by the GSEs, such as pooling practices, or their regulator, the FHFA, or actions by other governmental agencies. Housing finance reform measures may also impact the supply and availability of our target assets. Consequently, a sufficient supply of our target assets may not be available or available at attractive prices. We may also compete for these assets with a variety of other investors, including other REITs, specialty finance companies, public and private funds, government entities, banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, who may have competitive advantages over us, such as a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources not available to us. If we are unable to acquire a sufficient supply of our target assets, we may be unable to achieve our investment objectives or to maintain our REIT qualification status or exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act.
We may change our targeted investments, investment guidelines and other operational policies without stockholder consent.
We may change our targeted investments and investment guidelines at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments that are different from, and possibly riskier than, those described in this Annual Report or under our current guidelines. We may also amend or revise our other operational policies, including our policies with respect to our REIT qualification, acquisitions, dispositions, operations, indebtedness and distributions without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders. Any such change may increase our exposure to risks described herein or expose us to new risks that are not currently contemplated, which could materially impair our operations and financial performance.
Risks Related to Our Financing and Hedging Activities
Our strategy involves the use of significant leverage, which increases the risk that we may incur substantial losses.
We expect our leverage to vary with market conditions and our assessment of the tradeoffs between risk and return on investments. We generally expect to maintain our leverage between six to twelve times the amount of our tangible stockholders' equity, but we may operate at levels outside of this range for extended periods. We incur this leverage by borrowing against a substantial portion of the market value of our assets. Leverage, which is fundamental to our investment strategy, creates significant risks and amplifies our risk exposure to higher borrowing costs, changes in underlying asset values and other market factors. Leverage also exposes us to the risk of margin calls and defaults under our funding agreements, which may result in forced sales of assets in adverse market conditions. The risks associated with leverage are more acute during volatile market environments and periods of reduced market liquidity. Because of our leverage, we may incur substantial losses.
11
We may be unable to procure or renew funding on favorable terms, or at all.
We rely primarily on short-term borrowings to finance our mortgage investments. Consequently, our ability to achieve our investment objectives depends not only on our ability to borrow sufficient amounts and on favorable terms, but also our ability to renew or replace our maturing short-term borrowings on a continuous basis. A variety of factors could prevent us from being able to achieve our intended borrowing and leverage objectives, including:
•disruptions in the repo market generally or the infrastructure that supports it;
•higher short-term interest rates;
•a decline in the market value of our investments available to collateralize borrowings;
•increases in the "haircut" lenders require on the value of our assets under repurchase agreements, resulting in higher collateral requirements;
•regulatory capital requirements or other limitations imposed on our lenders that negatively impact their ability or willingness to lend to us;
•an exit by lenders from the market;
•circumstances that could result in our failure to satisfy covenants, leverage limits, or other requirements imposed by our lenders, in which case our lenders may terminate and cease entering into repurchase transactions with us; and
•the inability of our wholly-owned captive broker-dealer to continually meet FINRA and FICC regulatory and membership requirements, which may change over time.
The FICC continually assesses potential changes to rules governing the calculation of margin and minimum margin requirements. Increases in FICC margin requirements would have the effect of reducing our unencumbered assets and could potentially limit our ability to utilize tri-party repo funding accessed through the FICC's GCF Repo service, which represents a significant portion of our total borrowing capacity.
Because of these and other factors, there is no assurance that we will be able to secure financing on terms that are acceptable to us. If we cannot obtain sufficient funding on acceptable terms, we may have to sell assets possibly under adverse market conditions.
Our borrowing costs may increase at a faster pace than the yield on our investments.
Our borrowing costs are particularly sensitive to changes in short-term interest rates, as well as overall funding availability and market liquidity, whereas the yield on our fixed rate assets is largely influenced by longer-term rates and conditions in the mortgage market. Consequently, our borrowing costs may rise at a faster pace or decline at a slower pace than the yield on our assets, negatively impacting our net interest margin.
It may be uneconomical to roll our TBA dollar roll transactions and we may be required to take physical delivery of the underlying securities and fund our obligations with cash or other financing sources.
We utilize TBA dollar roll transactions as an alternate means of investing in and financing Agency RMBS, which represent a form of off-balance sheet financing and increase our "at risk" leverage. It may become uneconomical for us to roll forward our TBA positions prior to their settlement dates due to market conditions, which can be impacted by a variety of factors including the Fed’s purchases and sales of Agency RMBS in the TBA market. TBA dollar roll transactions include a deferred purchase price obligation on our part. An inability or unwillingness to continue to roll forward our position has effects similar to a termination of financing. In that circumstance, we would be required to settle the obligations for cash and would then take physical delivery of the underlying Agency RMBS. We may not have sufficient funds or alternative financing sources available to settle such obligations. Additionally, if we take delivery of the underlying securities, we can expect to receive the "cheapest to deliver" securities with the least favorable prepayment attributes that satisfy the terms of the TBA contract. Further, the specific securities that we receive may include few, if any, “whole pool” securities, which could inhibit our ability to remain exempt from and regulation as an investment company under the Investment Company Act (see “Loss of our exemption from regulation pursuant to the Investment Company Act would adversely affect us” below). TBA contracts also subject us to margin requirements as described further below. Our inability to roll forward our TBA positions or failure to obtain adequate financing to settle our obligations or to meet margin calls under our TBA contracts could force us to sell assets under adverse market conditions causing us to incur significant losses.
Our funding and derivative agreements subject us to margin calls that could result in defaults and force us to sell assets under adverse market conditions or through foreclosure.
Our funding and derivative agreements require that we maintain certain levels of collateral with our counterparties and may result in margin calls initiated against us if, for example, the value of our collateral declines. A margin call means that the counterparty requires us to pledge additional collateral to re-establish the required collateral level to protect them from loss in
12
the event we default on our obligations. The requirement to meet margin calls can create liquidity risks. In the event of a margin call, we must generally provide additional collateral on the same business day. If we fail to meet the margin call, we would be in default, and our counterparty could terminate outstanding transactions, require us to settle our entire obligation under the agreement and enforce their interests against existing collateral. Furthermore, we may also be subject to certain cross-default and acceleration rights, such that if we were to fail to meet a margin call under one agreement that failure could lead to defaults, accelerations, or other adverse events under other agreements, as well. The threat or occurrence of margin calls or the accelerated settlement of our obligations under our agreements could force us to sell our investments under adverse market conditions and result in substantial losses.
Our fixed-rate collateral is generally more susceptible to margin calls due to its price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In addition, some collateral may be less liquid than other instruments, which could cause it to be more susceptible to margin calls in a volatile market environment. Additionally, faster rates of prepayment increase the magnitude of potential margin calls as there is a time lag between the effective date of the prepayment and when we receive the principal payment.
Our derivative agreements also subject us to margin calls. Collateral requirements under our derivative agreements are typically dictated by contract or clearinghouse rules and regulations adopted by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and regulators of other countries. Thus, changes in clearinghouse rules and other regulations can increase our margin requirements and the cost of our hedges. Our counterparties typically have the sole discretion to determine eligible collateral, the value of our collateral and, in the case of our derivative counterparties, the value of our derivative instruments. Additionally, for cleared swaps and futures, the futures commission merchant, or FCM, that we transact through typically has the right to require more collateral than the clearinghouse requires.
Our repurchase agreements and agreements governing certain derivative instruments may contain financial and nonfinancial covenants subjecting us to the risk of default.
Our bilateral repurchase agreements and certain derivative agreements require that we comply with certain financial and non-financial covenants. Our more restrictive financial covenants typically limit declines in our stockholders’ equity for any given quarter, calendar year, or 12-month period and limit our leverage to a maximum amount. Compliance with these covenants depends on market factors and the strength of our business and operating results. In addition, our agreements typically require, among other things, that we maintain our status as a publicly listed REIT and to be exempted from the provisions of the 1940 Act. Various risks, uncertainties and events beyond our control, including significant fluctuations in interest rates, market volatility and changes in market conditions, could affect our ability to comply with these covenants. Unless we were able to negotiate a waiver or forbearance of such covenants, failure to comply with them could result in an event of default and generally would give the counterparty the right to exercise certain other remedies under the agreement, including termination of one or more repo or hedging transactions, acceleration of all amounts owed under an agreement, and the right to sell the collateral held by that counterparty. Any waiver or forbearance, if granted, could carry additional conditions that may be unfavorable to us. Additionally, certain of our agreements contain cross-default, cross-acceleration or similar provisions, such that if we were to violate a covenant under one agreement, that violation could lead to defaults, accelerations, or other adverse events under other agreements, as well.
Our rights under repurchase and derivative agreements in the event bankruptcy or insolvency may be limited.
In the event of our bankruptcy or insolvency, our repurchase agreements and hedging arrangements may qualify for special treatment under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the effect of which, among other things, would be to allow the counterparty under the applicable agreement to avoid the automatic stay provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and to foreclose on the collateral without delay. In the event of an insolvency or bankruptcy of one of our repurchase agreement or derivative counterparties, the counterparty may be permitted, under applicable insolvency laws, to repudiate the contract, and our claim against the counterparty for damages may be treated simply as an unsecured creditor. In addition, if the counterparty is a broker or dealer subject to the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, or an insured depository institution subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, our ability to recover our assets under our agreements or to be compensated for any damages resulting from the counterparty's insolvency may be further limited by those statutes. Recoveries on these claims could be subject to significant delay and, if received, could be substantially less than the damages incurred.
Our funding and derivative agreement counterparties may not fulfill their obligations to us as and when due.
If a repurchase agreement counterparty defaults on its obligation to resell collateral to us, we could incur a loss on the transaction equal to the difference between the value of our collateral and the amount of our borrowing. Similarly, if a derivative agreement counterparty fails to return collateral to us at the conclusion of the derivative transaction or fails to pledge collateral to us or to make other payments we are entitled to under the terms of our agreement as and when due, we could incur a loss equal to the value of our collateral and other amounts due to us.
13
We attempt to limit our counterparty exposure by diversifying our funding across multiple counterparties and limiting our counterparties to registered central clearing exchanges and major financial institutions with acceptable credit ratings. However, these measures may not sufficiently reduce our risk of loss. Central clearing exchanges typically attempt to reduce the risk of default by requiring initial and daily variation margin from their clearinghouse members and maintain guarantee funds and other resources that are available in the event of default. Nonetheless, we could be exposed to a risk of loss if an exchange or one or more of its clearing members defaults on its obligations. Most of the swaps and futures transactions that we enter into must be cleared by a Derivatives Clearing Organization, or DCO. DCOs are subject to regulatory oversight, use extensive risk management processes, and might receive "too big to fail" support from the government in the case of insolvency. We access the DCO through several FCMs, which may establish their own collateral requirements beyond that of the DCO. Consequently, for any cleared swap or futures transaction, we bear the credit risk of both the DCO and the relevant FCM as to obligations under our swap and futures agreements. The enforceability of our derivative and repurchase agreements may also depend on compliance with applicable statutory, commodity and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the domicile of the counterparty, applicable international requirements.
Our hedging strategies may be ineffective.
We attempt to limit, or hedge against, the adverse effect of changes in interest rates on the value of our assets and financing costs, subject to complying with REIT tax requirements. Hedging strategies are complex and do not fully protect against adverse changes under all circumstances. Our business model also calls for accepting certain amounts of risk. Consequently, our hedging activities are generally designed to limit interest rate exposure, but not to eliminate it, and they are generally not designed to hedge against spread risk and other risks inherent to our business model.
Our hedging strategies may vary in scope based on our portfolio composition, liabilities and our assessment of the level and volatility of interest rates, expected prepayments, credit and other market conditions, and are expected to change over time. We could fail to properly assess a risk or fail to recognize a risk entirely, leaving us exposed to losses without the benefit of any offsetting hedges. Furthermore, the techniques and derivative instruments we select may not have the effect of reducing our risk. Poorly designed hedging strategies or improperly executed transactions could increase our risk of loss. Hedging activities could also result in losses if the hedged event does not occur. Numerous other factors can impact the effectiveness of our hedging strategies, including the following:
•the cost of interest rate hedges;
•the degree to which the interest rate hedge benchmark rate correlates to the interest rate risk being hedged;
•the degree to which the duration of the hedge matches that of the related asset or liability, particularly as interest rates change;
•the amount of income that a REIT may earn from hedging transactions that do not satisfy certain requirements of the Internal Revenue Code or that are not done through a TRS; and
•the degree to which the value of our interest rate hedges changes relative to our assets as a result of fluctuations in interest rates, passage of time, or other factors.
Additionally, regulations adopted by the CFTC and regulators of other countries could adversely affect our ability to engage in derivative transactions or impose increased margin requirements and require additional operational and compliance costs. Consequently, our hedging strategies may fail to protect us from loss and could even result in greater losses than if we had not entered in the hedge transaction.
The discontinuation of LIBOR could negatively impact the dividends we pay on our fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock and the value of our LIBOR-based financial instruments.
The stated dividend rate of each series of our outstanding fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock is indexed to three-month USD LIBOR following the applicable fixed rate period (“LIBOR Based Preferred Stock”). In addition, we also have certain investments that reference USD LIBOR (“LIBOR Based Investments”). The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, which regulates LIBOR, has announced that the USD LIBOR tenors relevant to us will cease to be published or will no longer be representative after June 30, 2023. The FCA's announcement coincided with the announcement of LIBOR's administrator, the ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, that it will cease publication of such LIBOR tenors immediately after the last publication on June 30, 2023 as a result of not having sufficient data necessary to calculate LIBOR on a representative basis after such date. These announcements mean that our LIBOR-based floating rate instruments outstanding beyond June 30, 2023 will need to be converted to alternative interest rates. Our LIBOR Based Preferred Stock and our LIBOR Based Investments typically contain various mechanisms to address circumstances where LIBOR becomes unavailable (so-called fallback language), but certain of these instruments do not contain fallback language specific to the permanent discontinuation of LIBOR. Holders of depositary shares of our LIBOR Based Preferred Stock should refer to the relevant prospectus for each series to understand the LIBOR-cessation provisions applicable to it.
14
In 2022, Congress enacted the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (the “LIBOR Act”) to provide a uniform, nationwide solution for replacing references to LIBOR in LIBOR based floating rate instruments. The LIBOR Act and Federal Reserve rules promulgated pursuant to it create default rules that apply to fallback provisions of these instruments, and pursuant to the LIBOR Act, the Federal Reserve has adopted replacement benchmark rates for LIBOR contracts of various periods based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus specified tenor spread adjustments (the “LIBOR Act Replacement Benchmark”). These default rules will vary among LIBOR based instruments depending on the type of fallback language in them. Generally, instruments with no fallback language or regulatorily insufficient fallback language must apply the LIBOR Act Replacement Benchmark after June 30, 2023 in lieu of any fallback process set forth in these instruments. Instruments that expressly identify a non-LIBOR based replacement benchmark will apply that replacement benchmark after June 30, 2023. Instruments that appoint an administrator to determine a benchmark replacement upon the cessation of LIBOR (other than by reference to LIBOR values (except as necessary to set a spread adjustment) or by conducting a poll or soliciting quotes for interbank lending rates) will apply a replacement benchmark selected by this administrator in accordance with the instrument for periods after June 30, 2023. However, for instruments with a replacement benchmark set by an administrator, the LIBOR Act encourages selection of the LIBOR Act Replacement Benchmark by providing liability protections and other benefits.
There are significant differences between LIBOR and SOFR. LIBOR reflects the average rates at which major banks indicate they are willing to lend to one another on an unsecured basis for various terms. Conversely, SOFR is a broad-based measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight, on a secured basis, in the U.S. Treasury-backed repurchase market. Switching existing financial instruments from LIBOR to SOFR requires calculations of a fixed spread to account for such differences, and this spread (including the spread included in the LIBOR Act Replacement Benchmark) may not favor all parties equally.
Each series of our LIBOR Based Preferred Stock that is currently outstanding becomes callable at the same time it begins to pay a LIBOR-based (or replacement benchmark) rate. At the later of the end of the fixed-rate term or the cessation of LIBOR, we may set the stated dividend rate in the manner as provided under the LIBOR Act and related regulations. Alternatively, at our option, we may call the shares of preferred stock. Application of these LIBOR fallback provisions (as affected by the LIBOR Act and related regulations) or calling series of preferred stock may result in our incurring a higher cost of capital or potentially selling assets.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations
Our executive officers and other key personnel are critical to our success and the loss of any executive officer or key employee may materially adversely affect our business.
We operate in a highly specialized industry and our success is dependent upon the efforts, experience, diligence, skill and network of business contacts of our executive officers and key personnel. The departure of any of our executive officers and/or key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations and performance.
We are highly dependent on information systems and third-party service providers to conduct our operations, and system failures, cybersecurity incidents or failure of our providers to fulfill their obligations to us could significantly disrupt our ability to operate our business.
Our business is highly dependent on communication and information systems. We are dependent on third-parties to maintain many of our systems and to support our increasing reliance on cloud-based services and other services essential to operating our business. A system failure or of a third-party provider to fulfill their obligations to us could significantly delay or prevent us from conducting critical operating activities. Furthermore, our reliance on information systems, including remote access to such systems, exposes us to risks of a cybersecurity incident occurring, such as computer malware, virus, hacking, denial of service and phishing attacks, which have become more prevalent in our industry. In addition to disrupting our operations, a cyber-attack or security breach could lead to unauthorized access to confidential information and the release, misuse, loss or destruction of such information, subjecting us to regulatory fines, remediation costs, reputational harm, financial loss, litigation and increased difficulty doing business with third-parties that may rely on us to meet their own data protection requirements.
Although we have not detected a material cybersecurity breach to date, other financial services institutions have reported material breaches of their systems, some of which have been significant. Even with all reasonable security efforts, not every breach can be prevented or even detected. It is possible that we or our third-party providers have experienced an undetected breach or may in the future. It is difficult to determine what, if any, negative impact may directly result from any specific cyber-attack, security breach or other business interruption. We may also face increased costs as we and our providers continue to evolve cyber defenses to contend with changing risks. Additionally, the legal and regulatory environment surrounding information privacy and security in the U.S. and international jurisdictions is constantly evolving potentially leading to increased regulatory requirements. The cost associated with these risks are difficult to predict and quantify but could have a significant adverse effect on our operating results.
15
Risks Related to Our Taxation as a REIT
Our failure to qualify as a REIT would have adverse tax consequences.
We believe that we operate in a manner that allows us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder. We plan to continue to meet the requirements for taxation as a REIT. The determination that we are a REIT requires an analysis of various factual matters and circumstances that may not be totally within our control, and our compliance with the annual REIT income and quarterly asset requirements depends upon our ability to successfully manage the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis. For example, to qualify as a REIT, at least 75% of our gross income must come from real estate sources and 95% of our gross income must come from real estate sources and certain other sources that are itemized in the REIT tax laws. Additionally, our ability to satisfy the REIT asset tests depends upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals. Furthermore, the proper classification of an instrument as debt or equity for federal income tax purposes may be uncertain in some circumstances, which could affect the application of the REIT asset requirements. We are also required to distribute to stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and by excluding any net capital gain).
If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any tax year, we would be subject to U.S. federal and state corporate income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and dividends paid to our stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Also, unless the IRS granted us relief under certain statutory provisions, we would remain disqualified as a REIT for four years following the year we first fail to qualify. If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we may have to pay significant income taxes and would, therefore, have less money available for investments or for distributions to our stockholders. This would likely have a significant adverse effect on the value of our equity. In addition, the tax law would no longer require us to make distributions to our stockholders.
If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification, we may still qualify as a REIT if there is reasonable cause for the failure, it is not due to willful neglect, and we satisfy other requirements, including completion of applicable IRS filings. It is not possible to state whether we would be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions. If these relief provisions were inapplicable, we would not qualify as a REIT. Furthermore, even if we satisfy the relief provisions and maintain our qualification as a REIT, we may be still subject to a penalty tax. The penalty tax for failure to satisfy an asset test would be the greater of $50,000 per failure or an amount equal to the net income generated by the assets that resulted in the failure multiplied by the highest U.S. federal corporate tax rate in effect at the time of the failure. The penalty tax for failure to satisfy one or both gross income tests would be an amount equal to 100% of the net profit on the gross income that resulted in the failure calculated in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code.
REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.
We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments and excluding any net capital gain, for U.S. federal and state corporate income tax not to apply to earnings that we distribute and to retain our REIT status. Distributions of our taxable income must generally occur in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if declared before we timely file our tax return for the year and if paid with or before the first regular dividend payment after such declaration. We may also elect to retain, rather than distribute, our net long-term capital gains and pay tax on such gains if required, in which case, we could elect for our stockholders to include their proportionate share of such undistributed long-term capital gains in income, and to receive a corresponding credit for their share of the tax that we paid. Our stockholders would then increase the adjusted basis of their stock by the difference between (a) the amounts of capital gain dividends that we designated and that they include in their taxable income, minus (b) the tax that we paid on their behalf with respect to that income. We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the REIT qualification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, which limits our ability to retain earnings and thereby replenish or increase capital from operations.
To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal and state corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. Furthermore, if we should fail to distribute during each calendar year at least the sum of (a) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (b) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year, and (c) any undistributed taxable income from prior periods, we would be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the sum of (x) the amounts actually distributed, (y) the amounts of income we retained and on which we have paid corporate income tax and (z) any excess distributions from prior periods.
Our taxable income will typically differ from income prepared in accordance with GAAP due to temporary and permanent differences. For example, realized gains and losses on our hedging instruments, such as interest rate swaps, may be deferred for
16
income tax purposes and amortized into taxable income over the remaining contract term of the instrument even if we have exited the instrument and settled such gains or losses for cash. We are also not allowed to reduce our taxable income for net capital losses incurred; instead, the capital losses may be carried forward for a period of up to five years and applied against future capital gains subject to our ability to generate sufficient capital gains, which cannot be assured. Therefore, it is possible that our taxable income could be in excess of the net cash generated from our operations. If we do not have funds available in these situations to meet our REIT distribution requirements or to avoid corporate and excise taxes altogether, we could be required to borrow funds on unfavorable terms, sell investments at disadvantageous prices or distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions.
We may choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case stockholders may be required to pay income taxes in excess of cash dividends received.
We may in the future distribute taxable dividends that are payable at least in part in shares of our common stock. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends that are in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock that it receives as a dividend to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in stock.
Even if we remain qualified as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow.
Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may nonetheless be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including the following items. Any of these or other taxes we may incur would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
•Regular U.S. federal and state corporate income taxes on any undistributed taxable income, including undistributed net capital gains.
•A non-deductible 4% excise tax if the actual amount distributed to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under Federal tax laws.
•Corporate income taxes on the earnings of subsidiaries, to the extent that such subsidiaries are subchapter C corporations and are not qualified REIT subsidiaries or other disregarded entities for federal income tax purposes.
•A 100% tax on certain transactions between us and our TRSs that do not reflect arm's-length terms.
•If we acquire appreciated assets from a corporation that is not a REIT (i.e., a corporation taxable under subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code) in a transaction in which the adjusted tax basis of the assets in our hands is determined by reference to the adjusted tax basis of the assets in the hands of the subchapter C corporation, we may be subject to tax on such appreciation at the highest corporate income tax rate then applicable if we subsequently recognize a gain on a disposition of any such assets during the five-year period following their acquisition from the subchapter C corporation.
•A 100% tax on net income and gains from "prohibited transactions."
•Penalty taxes and other fines for failure to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification.
Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to liquidate or forgo attractive investment opportunities.
To remain qualified as a REIT, we must ensure that, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investments in securities (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 20% of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. We must also satisfy tests concerning the sources of our income and the amounts that we distribute to our stockholders. Complying with these requirements may prevent us from acquiring certain attractive investments or we may be required to sell otherwise attractive investments. Thus, the potential returns on our investment portfolio may be lower than if we were not subject to such requirements. Additionally, if we must liquidate our investments to repay our lenders or to satisfy other obligations, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, potentially jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT.
17
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 could substantially limit our ability to hedge our risks. Any income from a properly designated hedging transaction to manage risk of interest rate changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made, or ordinary obligations incurred or to be incurred, to acquire or carry real estate assets generally does not constitute "gross income" for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income tests ("qualified hedges"). To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions, or fail to properly designate qualified hedges, the income from those transactions is likely to be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests. As such, we may have to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities as our TRS would be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in a TRS will generally not provide any tax benefit, except for being carried forward against future taxable income in the TRS.
Uncertainty exists with respect to the treatment of our TBAs for purposes of the REIT asset and income tests.
There is no direct authority with respect to the qualification of TBAs as real estate assets or U.S. Government securities for purposes of the 75% asset test or the qualification of income or gains from dispositions of TBAs as gains from the sale of real property or other qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. However, we treat our TBAs as qualifying assets for purposes of the REIT 75% asset test, and we treat income and gains from our TBAs as qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, based on a legal opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (“Skadden”) substantially to the effect that (i) for purposes of the REIT asset tests, our ownership of a TBA should be treated as ownership of the underlying Agency RMBS, and (ii) for purposes of the 75% REIT gross income test, any gain recognized by us in connection with the settlement of our TBAs should be treated as gain from the sale or disposition of the underlying Agency RMBS. Opinions of counsel are not binding on the IRS, and no assurance can be given that the IRS will not successfully challenge the conclusions set forth in such opinions. In addition, it must be emphasized that Skadden’s opinion is based on various assumptions relating to our TBAs and is conditioned upon fact-based representations and covenants made by our management regarding our TBAs. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert that such assets or income are not qualifying assets or income. If the IRS were to successfully challenge Skadden’s opinion, we could be subject to a penalty tax or we could fail to remain qualified as a REIT if a sufficient portion of our assets consists of TBAs or a sufficient portion of our income consists of income or gains from the disposition of TBAs.
Qualifying as a REIT involves highly technical and complex provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions on a continuous basis for which only limited judicial and administrative authorities exist. Our application of such provisions may be dependent on interpretations of the provisions by the staff of the Internal Revenue Service, which may change over time. Even a technical or inadvertent violation of the Internal Revenue Code provisions could jeopardize our REIT qualification.
The tax on prohibited transactions could limit our ability to engage in certain transactions.
Net income that we derive from a "prohibited transaction" is subject to a 100% tax. The term "prohibited transaction" generally includes a sale or other disposition of property that is held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business by us or by a borrower that has issued a shared appreciation mortgage or similar debt instrument to us. We could be subject to this tax if we were to dispose of assets or structure transactions in a manner that is treated as a prohibited transaction for federal income tax purposes.
We intend to structure our activities to avoid classification as prohibited transactions. As a result, we may choose not to engage in certain transactions at the REIT level that might otherwise be beneficial to us. In addition, whether property is held "primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business" depends on the particular facts and circumstances. Thus, no assurance can be given that any property that we sell will not be treated as such or that we can comply with certain safe-harbor provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that would prevent such treatment. The 100% tax does not apply to gains from the sale of property that is held through a TRS or other taxable corporation, although such income will be subject to tax at the entity’s regular corporate rates.
Distributions to tax-exempt investors may be classified as unrelated business taxable income.
Although distributions with respect to our common stock generally do not constitute unrelated business taxable income, there are some circumstances where they may. If (i) we generate "excess inclusion income" as a result of all or a portion of our assets being subject to rules relating to "taxable mortgage pools" or as a result of holding residual interests in a REMIC or (ii) we become a "pension held REIT," then a portion of the distributions to tax exempt investors may be subject to U.S. federal income tax as unrelated business taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code.
18
Legislative and Regulatory Risks
Loss of our exemption from regulation pursuant to the Investment Company Act would adversely affect us.
We conduct our business so as not to become regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act in reliance on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act. Section 3(c)(5)(C), as interpreted by the staff of the SEC, requires that: (i) at least 55% of our investment portfolio consists of "mortgages and other liens on and interest in real estate," or "qualifying real estate interests," and (ii) at least 80% of our investment portfolio consists of qualifying real estate interests plus "real estate-related assets."
The specific real estate related assets that we acquire are limited by the provisions of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. In satisfying the 55% requirement, we treat Agency RMBS issued with respect to an underlying pool of mortgage loans in which we directly or indirectly hold all the certificates issued by the pool ("whole pool" securities) as qualifying real estate interests based on pronouncements of the SEC staff. We treat partial pool securities, CRT and other mortgage related securities as real estate-related assets. Consequently, our ability to satisfy the exemption under the Investment Company Act is dependent upon our ability to acquire and hold on a continuous basis a sufficient amount of whole pool securities. The availability of whole pool securities may be adversely impacted by a variety of factors, including GSE pooling practices, which can change over time, housing finance reform initiatives and competition for whole pool securities with other mortgage REITs.
Additionally, if the SEC determines that any of our securities are not qualifying interests in real estate or real estate-related assets, otherwise believes we do not satisfy the above exceptions or changes its interpretation with respect to these securities or the above exceptions, we could be required to restructure our activities or sell certain of our assets. As such, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to acquire or hold enough whole pool securities to maintain our exemption under the Investment Company Act, and our compliance with these requirements may at times lead us to adopt less efficient methods of investing in certain securities or to forego acquiring more desirable securities. Importantly, if we fail to qualify for this exemption, our ability to use leverage would be substantially reduced and we would be unable to conduct our business as we currently conduct it, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
Failure to satisfy regulatory requirements of our captive broker-dealer subsidiary could result in our inability to access tri-party repo funding through the FICC’s GCF Repo service and could be harmful to our business operations.
BES is subject to ongoing membership and regulatory requirements as a member of the FICC and FINRA and as a registered broker-dealer that include but are not limited to trade practices, use and safekeeping of funds and securities, capital structure, recordkeeping and conduct of directors, officers and employees. Additionally, as a self-clearing, registered broker-dealer, BES is subject to minimum net capital requirements. Our ability to access tri-party repo funding through the FICC's GCF Repo service, which represents a significant portion of our total borrowing capacity, and our ability to conduct self-clearing of our investment and funding activity through BES are reliant on BES' ability to continually meet these regulatory and membership requirements. If BES were to lose its memberships in FICC and FINRA or its status as a self-clearing registered broker-dealer, we may be unable to find alternative sources of financing on favorable terms and we may experience business interruptions as we attempt to transfer custody and clearing activities to alternative providers that would be harmful to our business.
New legislation or administrative or judicial action could make it more difficult or impossible for us to remain qualified as a REIT or it could otherwise adversely affect REITs and their stockholders.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of REITs may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time, which could affect our ability to maintain our REIT status and/or the federal income tax treatment of an investment in us. The federal income tax rules dealing with REITs constantly are under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department, which results in statutory changes as well as frequent revisions to regulations and interpretations. Revisions in Federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could affect or cause us to change our investments and affect the tax considerations of an investment in us.
Actions of the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Congress, Fed, U.S. Treasury, Federal Housing Finance Administration ("FHFA") and other governmental and regulatory bodies may adversely affect our business.
U.S. Government legislative and administrative actions may have an adverse impact on the financial markets. To the extent the markets do not respond favorably to any such actions or such actions do not function as intended, they could have broad adverse market implications and could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations. For example, the actual or anticipated actions or inaction on U.S. fiscal policy matters, including the U.S. dept ceiling, could result in a wide range of negative economic effects, including increased financial market and interest rate volatility and wider market spreads
19
between mortgage assets and benchmark interest rates. Additionally, new regulatory requirements, including the imposition of more stringent capital rules, could adversely affect the availability or terms of financing from our lending counterparties, reduce market liquidity, restrict the origination of residential mortgage loans and the formation of new issuances of mortgage-backed securities and limit the trading activities of certain banking entities and other systemically significant organizations that are important to our business. Together or individually new regulatory requirements could materially affect our financial condition or results of operations in an adverse way.
Federal housing finance reform and potential changes to the Federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or to laws or regulations affecting the relationship between the GSEs and the U.S. Government may adversely affect our business.
The payments of principal and interest we receive on our Agency RMBS are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae. The guarantees on Agency securities created by Ginnie Mae are explicitly backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, whereas the guarantees on Agency securities created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not.
In September 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into the conservatorship of the FHFA, their federal regulator. In addition to the conservatorships, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has provided a liquidity backstop to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure their financial stability. Over time, efforts to end the conservatorships and the guarantee-payment structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have garnered attention from the U.S. Government. During the final year of the Trump Administration, FHFA established new regulatory capital requirements necessary for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to exit conservatorship, and the U.S. Treasury Department amended the terms of its liquidity backstop to enable Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to retain a greater amount of capital in order to achieve these levels, subject to certain conditions. Since taking office, the Biden Administration and the FHFA have delayed implementation or reversed some of these initiatives and have taken steps intended to advance other housing finance policy objectives. However, the FHFA has taken steps to implement portions of the regulatory capital requirements, including by permitting the GSEs to charge fees that seek to offset related capital charges on certain Agency RMBS. These or future administrative actions may significantly impact the source, pricing, volume and nature of Agency RMBS and other mortgage securities that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issue.
Further administrative and/or legislative actions may be taken that affect structural GSE and federal housing finance reform, alter the amount or nature of the credit support provided by the U.S. Treasury to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, modify the future roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in housing finance or otherwise impact the value or relative fungibility of Agency RMBS issued by each GSE. Such actions may create market uncertainty, may have the effect of reducing the actual or perceived credit quality of securities issued or guaranteed by them or may otherwise impact the size and scope of the Agency RMBS markets. To the extent such actions would terminate the conservatorships without also providing for a sufficiently robust U.S. government guaranty, they could re-define what constitutes an Agency security and subject Agency RMBS to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac credit risk, make them more difficult to finance, and cause their values to decline, all of which could have broad adverse implications for the mortgage markets and our business.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile.
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, stockholders may be unable to resell shares at a gain. Furthermore, fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock may adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock and our ability to raise additional equity capital. Price fluctuations may result in our stock trading below our reported net tangible book value per share for extended periods of time. Variations in the price of our common stock can be affected by any one of the risk factors described herein. Variations may also occur due to a variety of factors unrelated to our financial performance, such as:
•general market and economic conditions, including actual and anticipated changes in interest rates and mortgage spreads;
•changes in government policy, rules and regulations applicable to mortgage REITs, including tax laws, financial accounting and reporting standards, and exemptions from the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
•actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results as well as relative to levels expected by securities analysts;
•issuance of shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock, which may be issued at a price below tangible net book value per share of common stock;
•changes in market valuations of similar companies;
•adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future or issuance of preferred stock senior in priority to our common stock;
•actions by stockholders, individually or collectively;
•additions or departures of key management personnel;
20
•speculation in the press or investment community;
•actual or anticipated changes in our dividend policy; and
•changes to our targeted investments or investment guidelines.
We have not established a minimum dividend payment level and may be unable to pay dividends in the future.
We intend to pay monthly dividends to our common stockholders in an amount that all or substantially all our taxable income is distributed within the limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code. However, we have not established a minimum dividend payment level and the amount of our dividend may fluctuate. Our ability to pay dividends may be adversely affected by the risk factors described herein. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings and financial condition, the requirements for REIT qualification and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant from time to time. Additionally, our preferred stock has a preference on dividend payments and liquidating distributions that could limit our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our common stock. Therefore, we may not be able to make distributions in the future or our Board of Directors may change our dividend policy.
Our certificate of incorporation generally does not permit ownership of more than 9.8% of our common or capital stock and attempts to acquire amounts above this limit will be ineffective unless an exemption is granted by our Board of Directors.
For the purpose of complying with REIT ownership limitations under the Internal Revenue Code, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation generally prohibits beneficial or constructive ownership by any person of more than 9.8% of our common or capital stock (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive), unless exempted by our Board of Directors. Such constructive ownership rules are complex and may cause the outstanding stock owned by a group of related individuals or entities to be deemed to be constructively owned by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of 9.8% or less of the outstanding stock by an individual, entity or group could result in constructive ownership greater than 9.8% and thus be subject to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation's ownership limit. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our common or preferred stock more than the ownership limit without the consent of the Board of Directors will result in the shares being automatically transferred to a charitable trust or, if the transfer to a charitable trust would not be effective, such transfer being treated as invalid from the outset. Such ownership limit could also delay or prevent a transaction or a change in our control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
None.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Neither we, nor any of our consolidated subsidiaries, are currently subject to any material litigation nor, to our knowledge, is any material litigation threatened against us or any consolidated subsidiary, other than routine litigation and administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Such proceedings are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, financial conditions, or results of our operations.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
21
PART II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "AGNC." As of February 9, 2023, 574,656,885 shares of common stock were issued and outstanding, which were held by 1,457 stockholders of record. Most of the shares of our common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders.
Dividends
We intend to pay dividends monthly to our common stockholders and to continue to qualify for the tax benefits accorded to a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. We have not established a minimum dividend payment level and our ability to pay dividends may be adversely affected for the reasons described under the caption "Risk Factors." Additionally, holders of depositary shares underlying our preferred stock are entitled to receive cumulative cash dividends before holders of our common stock are entitled to receive any dividends. See Note 9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for a description of our preferred stock and for common and preferred stock dividends paid for the three years ended December 31, 2022. All distributions to stockholders will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, financial condition, maintenance of our REIT status and other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table summarizes information, as of December 31, 2022, concerning shares of our common stock authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans, pursuant to which grants of equity-based awards, namely restricted stock units ("RSUs"), may be granted from time to time. See Notes 2 and 10 to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for a description of our equity compensation plans.
| Plan Category | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights 1 | Weighted average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in the first column of this table) 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 6,857,762 | $ | — | 31,305,228 | ||||||||||||||||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 6,857,762 | $ | — | 31,305,228 | ||||||||||||||||
________________________________
1.Includes (i) unvested time and performance-based RSU awards (unvested performance-based awards assume the maximum payout under the terms of the award); (ii) outstanding previously vested awards, if distribution of such awards has been deferred beyond the vesting date; and (iii) accrued dividend equivalent units on items (i) and (ii) through December 31, 2022.
2.Available shares are reduced by items (i), (ii) and (iii) noted above and by shares issued for vested awards, net of units withheld to cover minimum statutory tax withholding requirements paid by us in cash on behalf of the employee.
Performance Graph
The following graph and table compare a stockholder's cumulative total return, assuming $100 invested at December 31, 2017, with the reinvestment of all dividends, as if such amounts had been invested in: (i) our common stock; (ii) the stocks included in the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index ("S&P 500"); and (iii) the stocks included in the Bloomberg Mortgage REIT Index.
We have discontinued the use of a supplemental peer index, that was composed of Annaly Capital Management, Inc., Armour Residential REIT, Inc, Two Harbors Investment Corp., Invesco Mortgage Capital, Inc and Dynex Capital, Inc (collectively, the "Agency REIT Peer Group"). These issuers are also included in the Bloomberg Mortgage REIT Index, our selected industry index, and the later provides a more comprehensive mortgage REIT performance metric. Additionally, because of the small number of issuers in the Agency REIT Peer Group and because it was market cap weighted, the index was skewed to the performance of a single issuer.
22
________________________________
*$100 invested on 12/31/17 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.
Fiscal year ending December 31.
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AGNC Investment Corp. | $ | 89.51 | $ | 114.36 | $ | 108.68 | $ | 110.48 | $ | 97.49 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 | $ | 156.88 | $ | 191.58 | $ | 148.85 | $ | 125.72 | $ | 95.62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bloomberg Mortgage REITs | $ | 83.05 | $ | 109.82 | $ | 93.38 | $ | 120.03 | $ | 97.09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The information in the share performance graph and table has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but neither its accuracy nor its completeness can be guaranteed. The historical information set forth above is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Accordingly, we do not make or endorse any predictions as to future share performance.
Item 6. [Reserved]
23
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") is designed to provide a reader of AGNC Investment Corp.'s consolidated financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of management and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our MD&A is presented in the following sections:
•Executive Overview
•Financial Condition
•Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates
•Results of Operations
•Liquidity and Capital Resources
•Forward-Looking Statements
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
We are a leading provider of private capital to the U.S. housing market, enhancing liquidity in the residential real estate mortgage markets and, in turn, facilitating home ownership in the U.S. We invest primarily in Agency RMBS on a leveraged basis. These investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a U.S. Government-sponsored enterprise, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or by a U.S. Government agency, such as Ginnie Mae. We may also invest in other assets related to the housing, mortgage or real estate markets that are not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency.
We are internally managed with the principal objective of providing our stockholders with favorable long-term returns on a risk-adjusted basis through attractive monthly dividends. We generate income from the interest earned on our investments, net of associated borrowing and hedging costs, and net realized gains and losses on our investment and hedging activities. We fund our investments primarily through collateralized borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. We operate in a manner to qualify to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code.
The size and composition of our investment portfolio depends on the investment strategies we implement, availability of attractively priced investments, suitable financing to appropriately leverage our investment portfolio and overall market conditions. Market conditions are influenced by a variety of factors, including interest rates, prepayment expectations, liquidity, housing prices, unemployment rates, general economic conditions, government participation in the mortgage market, regulations and relative returns on other assets.
Trends and Recent Market Impacts
Financial markets experienced broad-based weakness in 2022. Persistently high inflation, coupled with macroeconomic and monetary policy uncertainty, led to a sharp decline in investor sentiment and a significant repricing in the fixed income markets. Interest rates across the yield curve moved materially higher, as the Federal Reserve (the "Fed") raised the Federal Funds rate 425 basis points, and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury security increased nearly 250 basis points for the year, resulting in the worst annual total return for these bonds in decades. The sharp increase in U.S. Treasury yields drove mortgage rates to their highest level in twenty years, and, similar to the 10-year U.S. Treasury, the total return for the unlevered Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index, which tracks the performance of fixed-rate Agency RMBS, was -12% for the year, its worst annual performance since the Index's inception in 1976.
Agency RMBS often initially underperform other fixed income products during significant market downturns. Investors typically sell Agency RMBS holdings prior to other less liquid fixed income asset classes to meet cash needs and redemption obligations during market disruptions and liquidity events. This dynamic caused Agency RMBS to significantly underperform interest rate hedges and other fixed income assets during the year. As a result, Agency RMBS spreads to benchmark interest rates across the coupon stack reached historically wide levels.
This spread widening was the primary driver of AGNC’s total comprehensive income (loss) per diluted common share of $(4.22) for fiscal year 2022, compared to $0.44 for fiscal year 2021, and economic return (loss) on tangible net book value per common share of (28.4)% for fiscal year 2022, compared to 2.9% for fiscal year 2021, comprised of dividends declared per common share and the decline in our tangible net book value per common share. Net spread and dollar roll income, excluding "catch-up" amortization, (a non-GAAP measure) per diluted common share was $3.11 for fiscal year 2022, compared to $3.02 for fiscal year 2021, as higher asset yields and our pay-fixed/receive-variable interest rate swap portfolio offset rising repo funding costs and moderating TBA dollar roll income during the year.
24
Given the challenging market conditions, we prioritized risk management throughout 2022, characterized by a large interest rate hedge position and lower leverage relative to historical levels. For the year, our interest rate hedge ratio averaged approximately 118% of our Agency repurchase agreements and net TBA position. Our average "at risk" leverage ratio for the year was 7.8x our tangible stockholders' equity and, despite the decline in our stockholders' equity, was only slightly higher than 7.7x for fiscal year 2021, due to the combination of asset sales, portfolio runoff and capital markets transactions. As of December 31, 2022, our interest rate hedge ratio was 124% of our funding liabilities and our "at risk" leverage ratio was 7.4x tangible equity. Our liquidity position remained within normal operating levels during the year as a percentage of our stockholders' equity. As of December 31, 2022, our unencumbered cash and Agency RMBS totaled $4.3 billion, or 59% of our tangible stockholders' equity, and unencumbered credit securities totaled $100 million.
While 2022 was a difficult year for investors in all asset classes, the challenging conditions in the fixed income markets peaked in September and October 2022 when monetary policy and macro-economic uncertainty was at its highest point. A positive shift in market sentiment began to take hold in November 2022, which we believe marked the beginning of the recovery of the Agency RMBS market. Although market shifts typically evolve over time and are not linear, we believe that the longer-term outlook for Agency RMBS has improved substantially. Our favorable outlook is based on several positive dynamics. First, we expect Agency RMBS spreads to benchmark interest rates to remain wider than historical standards as the Fed’s outsized ownership of Agency RMBS gradually diminishes. Second, we expect the demand for Agency RMBS to outpace supply, even without Fed asset purchases. Higher interest rates and a slower housing market will likely limit the supply of new mortgages, while lower refinance activity should limit runoff of the Fed’s portfolio. Third, we expect that interest rate volatility will decline as the Fed slows the pace of interest rate hikes and the tightening of monetary conditions reaches an inflection point. Collectively, these factors create a favorable macroeconomic backdrop for Agency RMBS investors and could prove durable over the intermediate to long-term. We believe AGNC is well-positioned with our tangible net book value "at risk" leverage at the lower end of our historical operating range and a conservative hedge profile to take advantage of favorable investment opportunities as they arise.
For information regarding non-GAAP financial measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measure please refer to Results of Operations included in this MD&A below. For information regarding the sensitivity of our tangible net book value per common share to changes in interest rates and mortgage spreads, please refer to Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk in this form 10-K.
25
Market Information
The following table summarizes benchmark interest rates and prices of generic fixed rate Agency RMBS as of each date presented below:
Interest Rate/Security Price 1 | Dec. 31, 2021 | Mar. 31, 2022 | June 30, 2022 | Sept. 30, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 vs Dec. 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Target Federal Funds Rate: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Target Federal Funds Rate - Upper Band | 0.25% | 0.50% | 1.75% | 3.25% | 4.50% | +425 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOFR: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOFR Rate | 0.05% | 0.29% | 1.50% | 2.98% | 4.30% | +425 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOFR Interest Rate Swap Rate: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2-Year Swap | 0.74% | 2.28% | 2.99% | 4.25% | 4.45% | +371 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5-Year Swap | 1.12% | 2.25% | 2.79% | 3.85% | 3.75% | +263 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10-Year Swap | 1.32% | 2.13% | 2.81% | 3.59% | 3.56% | +224 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30-Year Swap | 1.46% | 1.97% | 2.66% | 3.07% | 3.21% | +175 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Security Rate: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2-Year U.S. Treasury | 0.73% | 2.34% | 2.96% | 4.28% | 4.43% | +370 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5-Year U.S. Treasury | 1.26% | 2.46% | 3.04% | 4.09% | 4.01% | +275 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10-Year U.S. Treasury | 1.51% | 2.34% | 3.02% | 3.83% | 3.88% | +237 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30-Year U.S. Treasury | 1.90% | 2.45% | 3.19% | 3.78% | 3.97% | +207 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-Year Fixed Rate Agency Price: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2.0% | $99.79 | $92.84 | $86.96 | $80.91 | $81.69 | -$18.10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2.5% | $102.12 | $95.45 | $90.09 | $83.94 | $84.96 | -$17.16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.0% | $103.68 | $97.86 | $93.27 | $86.97 | $88.02 | -$15.66 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.5% | $105.32 | $100.21 | $96.29 | $89.95 | $91.10 | -$14.22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4.0% | $106.44 | $102.10 | $98.74 | $92.73 | $94.03 | -$12.41 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4.5% | $107.19 | $103.73 | $100.51 | $95.21 | $96.59 | -$10.60 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5.0% | $109.22 | $105.13 | $102.17 | $97.39 | $98.80 | -$10.42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5.5% | $111.77 | $105.72 | $103.87 | $99.46 | $100.47 | -$11.30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6.0% | $109.25 | $106.56 | $104.63 | $101.61 | $101.69 | -$7.56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15-Year Fixed Rate Agency Price: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1.5% | $100.33 | $94.81 | $91.16 | $85.61 | $86.84 | -$13.49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2.0% | $102.45 | $97.11 | $93.52 | $88.06 | $89.28 | -$13.17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2.5% | $103.45 | $98.83 | $95.70 | $90.50 | $91.80 | -$11.65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.0% | $104.59 | $100.70 | $97.82 | $92.89 | $93.85 | -$10.74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.5% | $105.52 | $101.97 | $99.52 | $94.49 | $95.93 | -$9.59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4.0% | $105.47 | $102.50 | $100.95 | $96.43 | $97.75 | -$7.72 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.Price information is for generic instruments only and is not reflective of our specific portfolio holdings. Price information is as of 3:00 p.m. (EST) on such date and can vary by source. Prices in the table above were obtained from Barclays. Interest rates were obtained from Bloomberg.
26
The following table summarizes mortgage and credit spreads as of each date presented below:
| Mortgage Rate/Credit Spread | Dec. 31, 2021 | Mar. 31, 2022 | June 30, 2022 | Sept. 30, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 vs Dec. 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mortgage Rate: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-Year Agency Current Coupon Yield to 5-Year U.S. Treasury Spread | 81 | 103 | 134 | 159 | 138 | +57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-Year Agency Current Coupon Yield | 2.07% | 3.49% | 4.38% | 5.68% | 5.39% | +332 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-Year Mortgage Rate | 3.27% | 4.90% | 5.83% | 7.06% | 6.66% | +339 | bps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Credit Spread (in bps): 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CRT M2 | 175 | 385 | 544 | 633 | 514 | +339 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CMBS AAA | 74 | 101 | 131 | 145 | 127 | +53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CDX IG | 49 | 67 | 101 | 108 | 82 | +33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.30-Year Current Coupon Yield represents yield on new production Agency RMBS. 30-Year Current Coupon Yield and 30-Year Mortgage Rate are sourced from Bloomberg.
2.CRT and CDX spreads sourced from JP Morgan. CMBS spreads are the average of spreads sourced from JP Morgan and Wells Fargo.
27
FINANCIAL CONDITION
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our investment portfolio totaled $59.5 billion and $82.0 billion, respectively, consisting of: $40.9 billion and $54.4 billion investment securities, at fair value, respectively; $18.6 billion and $27.1 billion net TBA securities, at fair value, respectively; and, as of December 31, 2021, $0.4 billion forward settling non-Agency securities, at fair value. The following table is a summary of our investment securities as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in millions):
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment Securities (Includes TBAs) 2 | Amortized Cost | Fair Value | Average Coupon | % | Amortized Cost | Fair Value | Average Coupon | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed rate Agency RMBS and TBA securities: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
≤ 15-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 15-year RMBS | $ | 1,718 | $ | 1,597 | 3.25 | % | 3 | % | $ | 2,570 | $ | 2,652 | 3.27 | % | 3 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15-year TBA securities, net 1 | — | — | — | % | — | % | 2,056 | 2,059 | 1.71 | % | 3 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total ≤ 15-year | 1,718 | 1,597 | 3.25 | % | 3 | % | 4,626 | 4,711 | 2.57 | % | 6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20-year RMBS | 1,601 | 1,365 | 2.51 | % | 2 | % | 1,948 | 1,942 | 2.52 | % | 2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-year RMBS | 39,727 | 36,207 | 3.89 | % | 61 | % | 47,028 | 47,695 | 3.04 | % | 58 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30-year TBA securities, net 1 | 18,407 | 18,574 | 4.84 | % | 31 | % | 25,128 | 25,081 | 2.54 | % | 31 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total 30-year | 58,134 | 54,781 | 4.20 | % | 92 | % | 72,156 | 72,776 | 2.87 | % | 89 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fixed rate Agency RMBS and TBA securities | 61,453 | 57,743 | 4.13 | % | 97 | % | 78,730 | 79,429 | 2.84 | % | 97 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjustable rate Agency RMBS | 126 | 122 | 3.72 | % | — | % | 45 | 47 | 2.23 | % | — | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CMO Agency RMBS: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CMO | 136 | 129 | 3.20 | % | — | % | 182 | 188 | 3.12 | % | — | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-only strips | 46 | 41 | 2.15 | % | — | % | 31 | 37 | 5.60 | % | — | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal-only strips | 31 | 29 | — | % | — | % | 39 | 43 | — | % | — | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total CMO Agency RMBS | 213 | 199 | 2.25 | % | — | % | 252 | 268 | 4.08 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Agency RMBS and TBA securities | 61,792 | 58,064 | 4.12 | % | 98 | % | 79,027 | 79,744 | 2.85 | % | 98 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-Agency RMBS 3 | 111 | 90 | 4.52 | % | — | % | 763 | 767 | 2.85 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CMBS | 605 | 567 | 6.06 | % | 1 | % | 505 | 514 | 3.60 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CRT | 779 | 757 | 8.48 | % | 1 | % | 955 | 974 | 3.74 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total investment securities | $ | 63,287 | $ | 59,478 | 4.18 | % | 100 | % | $ | 81,250 | $ | 81,999 | 2.85 | % | 100 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
________________________________
1.TBA securities are presented net of long and short positions. For further details of our TBA securities refer to Note 5 of our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.
2.Table excludes other mortgage credit investments of $25 million as of December 31, 2022 accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
3.December 31, 2021 balance includes $0.4 billion of forward settling non-Agency securities reported in derivative assets/(liabilities) on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
TBA and forward settling securities are recorded as derivative instruments in our accompanying consolidated financial statements, and our TBA dollar roll transactions represent a form of off-balance sheet financing. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our TBA position and forward settling securities had a net carrying value of $0.2 billion and $(44) million, respectively, reported in derivative assets/(liabilities) on our accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The net carrying value represents the difference between the fair value of the underlying security in the TBA contract or forward purchase agreement and the price to be paid or received for the underlying security.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the weighted average yield on our investment securities (excluding TBA and forward settling securities) was 3.37% and 2.43%, respectively.
28
The following tables summarize certain characteristics of our fixed rate Agency RMBS portfolio, inclusive of TBA securities, as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in millions):
| December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Includes Net TBA Position | Excludes Net TBA Position | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed Rate Agency RMBS and TBA Securities | Par Value | Amortized Cost | Fair Value | Specified Pool % 1 | Weighted Average Coupon | Amortized Cost Basis | Weighted Average | Projected CPR 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yield 2 | Age (Months) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed rate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 15-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | 307 | 322 | 281 | 100% | 2.42% | 105.2% | 1.30% | 36 | 8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 1,363 | 1,393 | 1,313 | 98% | 3.43% | 102.2% | 2.75% | 59 | 11% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 3 | 3 | 3 | 97% | 4.55% | 102.4% | 2.65% | 144 | 17% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total ≤ 15-year | 1,673 | 1,718 | 1,597 | 98% | 3.25% | 102.7% | 2.47% | 55 | 11% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | 1,213 | 1,257 | 1,044 | —% | 2.15% | 103.6% | 1.60% | 28 | 5% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 246 | 252 | 235 | 86% | 3.60% | 102.7% | 2.91% | 90 | 10% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 87 | 92 | 86 | 99% | 4.50% | 105.1% | 3.18% | 74 | 12% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total 20-year: | 1,546 | 1,601 | 1,365 | 21% | 2.51% | 103.6% | 1.89% | 40 | 6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | 7,017 | 7,032 | 5,883 | 33% | 2.25% | 102.0% | 1.98% | 20 | 6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 18,775 | 19,371 | 17,605 | 78% | 3.66% | 104.6% | 2.95% | 70 | 7% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 31,649 | 31,731 | 31,293 | 30% | 4.96% | 102.9% | 4.31% | 20 | 8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total 30-year | 57,441 | 58,134 | 54,781 | 46% | 4.20% | 103.5% | 3.33% | 42 | 7% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fixed rate | $ | 60,660 | $ | 61,453 | $ | 57,743 | 46% | 4.13% | 103.5% | 3.25% | 43 | 7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
________________________________
1.Specified pools include pools backed by lower balance loans with original loan balances of up to $200K, HARP pools (defined as pools that were issued between May 2009 and December 2018 and backed by 100% refinance loans with original LTVs ≥ 80%), and pools backed by loans 100% originated in New York and Puerto Rico. As of December 31, 2022, lower balance specified pools had a weighted average original loan balance of $123,000 and $140,000 for 15-year and 30-year securities, respectively, and HARP pools had a weighted average original LTV of 128% and 138% for 15-year and 30-year securities, respectively.
2.Portfolio yield incorporates a projected life CPR based on forward rate assumptions as of December 31, 2022.
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Includes Net TBA Position | Excludes Net TBA Position | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed Rate Agency RMBS and TBA Securities | Par Value | Amortized Cost | Fair Value | Specified Pool % 1 | Weighted Average Coupon | Amortized Cost Basis | Weighted Average | Projected CPR 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yield 2 | Age (Months) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed rate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 15-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | $ | 2,410 | $ | 2,445 | $ | 2,444 | 16% | 1.82% | 105.0% | 1.18% | 25 | 13% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 2,132 | 2,176 | 2,262 | 98% | 3.42% | 102.0% | 2.66% | 53 | 17% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 5 | 5 | 5 | 97% | 4.61% | 102.8% | 2.67% | 133 | 21% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total ≤ 15-year | 4,547 | 4,626 | 4,711 | 55% | 2.57% | 102.5% | 2.44% | 49 | 16% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | 1,472 | 1,522 | 1,496 | —% | 2.15% | 103.4% | 1.44% | 15 | 11% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 302 | 310 | 325 | 87% | 3.61% | 102.5% | 2.88% | 79 | 14% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 110 | 116 | 121 | 100% | 4.51% | 104.7% | 3.13% | 63 | 16% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total 20-year: | 1,884 | 1,948 | 1,942 | 21% | 2.52% | 103.3% | 1.77% | 28 | 12% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-year: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≤ 2.5% | 43,195 | 44,005 | 43,762 | 15% | 2.32% | 102.1% | 1.94% | 7 | 7% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3.0% - 4.0% | 22,258 | 23,270 | 23,930 | 73% | 3.58% | 104.7% | 2.69% | 72 | 13% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ≥ 4.5% | 4,606 | 4,881 | 5,084 | 97% | 4.53% | 106.0% | 3.06% | 53 | 16% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total 30-year | 70,059 | 72,156 | 72,776 | 40% | 2.87% | 103.5% | 2.36% | 38 | 11% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fixed rate | $ | 76,490 | $ | 78,730 | $ | 79,429 | 41% | 2.84% | 103.5% | 2.34% | 38 | 11% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29
________________________________
1.See Note 1 of preceding table for specified pool composition. As of December 31, 2021, lower balance specified pools had a weighted average original loan balance of $119,000 and $117,000 for 15-year and 30-year securities, respectively, and HARP pools had a weighted average original LTV of 127% and 138% for 15-year and 30-year securities, respectively.
2.Portfolio yield incorporates a projected life CPR based on forward rate assumptions as of December 31, 2021.
For additional details regarding our CRT and non-Agency securities, including credit ratings, as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, please refer to Note 3 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
SUMMARY OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
Our critical accounting estimates involve estimates that require management to make judgments that are subjective in nature. We rely on our experience and analysis of historical and current market data to arrive at what we believe to be reasonable estimates. Under different conditions, we could report materially different amounts based on such estimates. For additional information regarding our significant accounting policies please refer to Note 2 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
Interest Income
The effective yield on our Agency RMBS and non-Agency securities of high credit quality is highly impacted by our estimate of future prepayments. We accrue interest income based on the outstanding principal amount and contractual terms of these securities, and we amortize or accrete premiums and discounts associated with our purchase of these securities into interest income over their projected lives, incorporating scheduled contractual payments and estimated prepayments, using the effective interest method. The weighted average cost basis of our securities as of December 31, 2022 was 103.4% of par value; therefore, changes in our actual or projected prepayments can significantly alter the effective yield on our assets.
Future prepayment rates are difficult to predict, and we rely on a third-party service provider and our experience and analysis of historical and current market data to arrive at what we believe to be reasonable estimates. Our third-party service provider estimates prepayment rates over the remaining life of our securities using models that incorporate the forward yield curve, current mortgage rates, mortgage rates on the outstanding loans, age and size of the outstanding loans, loan-to-value ratios, interest rate volatility and other factors. We review the estimated prepayment rates for reasonableness, giving consideration to historical prepayment rates, current market conditions and other factors we believe are likely to impact the rate of prepayments on our portfolio, and based on our judgment we may adjust the third-party estimates.
We review our actual and anticipated prepayment experience on at least a quarterly basis, and effective yields are recalculated when differences arise between (i) our previous prepayment estimates and (ii) actual prepayments to date and current estimates of future prepayments. If the actual and estimated future prepayment experience differs from our prior estimate of prepayments, we are required to record an adjustment in the current period to the amortization or accretion of premiums and discounts for the cumulative difference in the effective yield from inception through the reporting date. We commonly refer to this adjustment as "catch-up" premium amortization cost/benefit.
The most significant factor impacting prepayment rates on our securities is changes to long-term interest rates. Prepayment rates generally increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise. Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in this Form 10-K includes the estimated change in the weighted average projected CPR of our investments and in the corresponding weighted average yield on our investments should interest rates instantaneously go up or down by 25, 50, and 75 basis points. However, there are a variety of other factors that may impact the rate of prepayments on our securities. Consequently, our actual experience and future estimates of prepayments could differ materially from our estimates.
At the time we purchase CRT and non-Agency securities that are not of high credit quality, we determine an effective interest rate based on our estimate of the timing and amount of cash flows and our cost basis. On at least a quarterly basis, we review the estimated cash flows and make appropriate adjustments based on input and analysis received from external sources, internal models, our judgment about interest rates, prepayment rates, including collateral call provisions, timing and amount of estimated credit losses, and other factors. Any resulting changes in effective yield are recognized prospectively based on the current amortized cost of the investment as adjusted for credit impairment, if any.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the results presented in accordance with GAAP, our results of operations discussed below include certain non-GAAP financial information, including "economic interest income," "economic interest expense," "net spread and dollar roll income" and "net spread and dollar roll income, excluding 'catch-up' premium amortization, available to common
30
stockholders," "estimated taxable income (loss)" and the related per common share measures and certain financial metrics derived from such non-GAAP information.
"Economic interest income" is measured as interest income (GAAP measure), adjusted to (i) exclude retrospective "catch-up" adjustments to premium amortization cost associated with changes in projected CPR estimates and (ii) include TBA dollar roll implied interest income. "Economic interest expense" is measured as interest expense (GAAP measure) adjusted to include TBA dollar roll implied interest expense/benefit and interest rate swap periodic cost/income. "Net spread and dollar roll income, excluding 'catch-up' premium amortization, available to common stockholders" is measured as comprehensive income (loss) available (attributable) to common stockholders (GAAP measure) adjusted to: (i) exclude gains/losses on investment securities recognized through net income and other comprehensive income and gains/losses on derivative instruments and other securities (GAAP measures) and (ii) include interest rate swap periodic income/cost, TBA dollar roll income and other miscellaneous interest income/expense. As defined "Net spread and dollar roll income, excluding 'catch-up' premium amortization, available to common stockholders" includes (i) the components of "economic interest income" and "economic interest expense", plus (ii) other miscellaneous interest income/expense, and less (iii) total operating expenses and dividends on preferred stock (GAAP measures).
By providing such measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, we believe we give greater transparency into the information used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making. We also believe it is important for users of our financial information to consider information related to our current financial performance without the effects of certain measures and one-time events that are not necessarily indicative of our current investment portfolio performance and operations.
Specifically, in the case "net spread and dollar roll income, excluding 'catch-up' premium amortization, available to common stockholders" and components of such measure, "economic interest income" and "economic interest expense," we believe the inclusion of TBA dollar roll income is meaningful as TBAs, which are accounted for under GAAP as derivative instruments with gains and losses recognized in other gain (loss) in our consolidated statement of comprehensive income, are economically equivalent to holding and financing generic Agency RMBS using short-term repurchase agreements. Similarly, we believe that the inclusion of periodic interest rate swap settlements is meaningful as interest rate swaps are the primary instrument we use to economically hedge against fluctuations in our borrowing costs and it is more indicative of our total cost of funds than interest expense alone. Additionally, we believe the exclusion of "catch-up" premium amortization adjustments is meaningful as it excludes the cumulative effect from prior reporting periods due to current changes in future prepayment expectations and, therefore, exclusion of such adjustments is more indicative of the current earnings potential of our investment portfolio. In the case of "estimated taxable income (loss)", we believe it is meaningful information because it directly relates to the amount of dividends that we are required to distribute to maintain our REIT qualification status.
However, because such measures are incomplete measures of our financial performance and involve differences from results computed in accordance with GAAP, they should be considered as supplementary to, and not as a substitute for, results computed in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because not all companies use identical calculations, our presentation of such non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Furthermore, estimated taxable income can include certain information that is subject to potential adjustments up to the time of filing our income tax returns, which occurs after the end of our fiscal year.
Selected Financial Data
The following selected financial data is derived from our annual financial statements for the three years ended December 31, 2022. The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the more detailed information contained in Item 8. Financial Statements and in this Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (in millions, except per share amounts):
December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance Sheet Data | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Investment securities, at fair value of $40,904, $54,421, $66,414, respectively, and other mortgage credit investments | $ | 40,929 | $ | 54,421 | $ | 66,414 | ||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 51,748 | $ | 68,149 | $ | 81,817 | ||||||||||||||
| Repurchase agreements and other debt | $ | 36,357 | $ | 47,507 | $ | 52,543 | ||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | $ | 43,878 | $ | 57,858 | $ | 70,738 | ||||||||||||||
| Total stockholders' equity | $ | 7,870 | $ | 10,291 | $ | 11,079 | ||||||||||||||
Net book value per common share 1 | $ | 10.76 | $ | 16.76 | $ | 17.68 | ||||||||||||||
Tangible net book value per common share 2 | $ | 9.84 | $ | 15.75 | $ | 16.71 | ||||||||||||||
31
Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||||||||||
Statement of Comprehensive Income Data | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 1,590 | $ | 1,361 | $ | 1,519 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 625 | 75 | 674 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net interest income | 965 | 1,286 | 845 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other gain (loss), net | (2,081) | (449) | (1,018) | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | 74 | 88 | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | (1,190) | 749 | (266) | |||||||||||||||||
| Dividends on preferred stock | 105 | 100 | 96 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) available (attributable) to common stockholders | $ | (1,295) | $ | 649 | $ | (362) | ||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (1,190) | $ | 749 | $ | (266) | ||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss), net | (973) | (418) | 622 | |||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | (2,163) | 331 | 356 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dividends on preferred stock | 105 | 100 | 96 | |||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) available (attributable) to common stockholders | $ | (2,268) | $ | 231 | $ | 260 | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic | 537.0 | 528.1 | 551.6 | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - diluted | 537.0 | 530.0 | 551.6 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) per common share - basic | $ | (2.41) | $ | 1.23 | $ | (0.66) | ||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) per common share - diluted | $ | (2.41) | $ | 1.22 | $ | (0.66) | ||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) per common share - basic | $ | (4.22) | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.47 | ||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) per common share - diluted | $ | (4.22) | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.47 | ||||||||||||||
| Dividends declared per common share | $ | 1.44 | $ | 1.44 | $ | 1.56 | ||||||||||||||
Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Data (Unaudited) * | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Average investment securities - at par | $ | 47,761 | $ | 53,057 | $ | 70,077 | ||||||||||||||
| Average investment securities - at cost | $ | 49,195 | $ | 54,869 | $ | 72,543 | ||||||||||||||
Net TBA portfolio - at par (as of period end) 9 | $ | 19,050 | $ | 27,123 | $ | 30,364 | ||||||||||||||
Net TBA portfolio - at cost (as of period end) 9 | $ | 18,407 | $ | 27,622 | $ | 31,204 | ||||||||||||||
Net TBA portfolio - at market value (as of period end) 9 | $ | 18,574 | $ | 27,578 | $ | 31,479 | ||||||||||||||
Net TBA portfolio - at carrying value (as of period end) 3,9 | $ | 167 | $ | (44) | $ | 275 | ||||||||||||||
| Average net TBA dollar roll position - at cost | $ | 20,631 | $ | 29,851 | $ | 21,224 | ||||||||||||||
| Average total assets - at fair value | $ | 61,028 | $ | 72,908 | $ | 88,403 | ||||||||||||||
Average repurchase agreements and other debt outstanding 4 | $ | 41,363 | $ | 49,923 | $ | 69,370 | ||||||||||||||
Average stockholders' equity 5 | $ | 8,475 | $ | 10,885 | $ | 10,684 | ||||||||||||||
Average tangible net book value "at risk" leverage 6 | 7.8:1 | 7.7:1 | 8.9:1 | |||||||||||||||||
Tangible net book value "at risk" leverage (as of period end) 7 | 7.4:1 | 7.7:1 | 8.5:1 | |||||||||||||||||
Economic return on tangible common equity 8 | (28.4) | % | 2.9 | % | 3.5 | % | ||||||||||||||
Expenses % of average total assets | 0.12 | % | 0.12 | % | 0.11 | % | ||||||||||||||
Expenses % of average assets, including average net TBA position | 0.09 | % | 0.09 | % | ||||||||||||||||