Exhibit 99.1

MFA Financial, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

NEW YORK - MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) today provided its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Second Quarter 2023 financial results update:

Commenting on the quarter, Craig Knutson, MFA’s CEO and President said: “We are pleased to deliver distributable earnings in excess of our dividend during what was another challenging and volatile quarter for fixed-income investors. Although higher interest rates negatively impacted our book value, we took advantage of market conditions to acquire approximately $1 billion of loans and securities at attractive levels. Our net interest spread rose 40 bps during the quarter to 2.14%, further evidence that we are delivering on our mission to add higher-yielding assets while keeping our cost of funds relatively stable.”

Mr. Knutson continued: “Our Lima One subsidiary originated $584 million of new business purpose loans during the quarter, a 50% increase over the first quarter. We also acquired $345 million of Non-QM loans and again added to our Agency RMBS position. Our emphasis on disciplined underwriting and strong risk management continues to bear fruit. Delinquencies declined in each of our credit-sensitive asset classes, and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios remain quite low. Finally, we again benefited from our $3 billion interest rate swap position, which generated a net positive carry of $26 million during the quarter.”

Q2 2023 Portfolio Activity

Webcast

MFA Financial, Inc. plans to host a live audio webcast of its investor conference call on Thursday, August 3, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its second quarter 2023 financial results. The live audio webcast will be accessible to the general public over the internet at http://www.mfafinancial.com through the “Webcasts & Presentations” link on MFA’s home page. Earnings presentation materials will be posted on the MFA website prior to the conference call and an audio replay will be available on the website following the call.

About MFA Financial, Inc.

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE: MFA) is a leading specialty finance company that invests in residential mortgage loans, residential mortgage-backed securities and other real estate assets. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lima One Capital, MFA also originates and services business purpose loans for real estate investors. MFA has distributed over $4.6 billion in dividends to stockholders since its initial public offering in 1998. MFA is an internally-managed, publicly-traded real estate investment trust.

The following table presents MFA’s asset allocation as of June 30, 2023, and the second quarter 2023 yield on average interest-earning assets, average cost of funds and net interest rate spread for the various asset types.

Table 1 - Asset Allocation

The following table presents the activity for our residential mortgage asset portfolio for the three months ended June 30, 2023:

Table 2 - Investment Portfolio Activity Q2 2023

The following tables present information on our investments in residential whole loans.

Table 3 - Portfolio composition

Table 4 - Yields and average balances

Table 5 - Net Interest Spread

Table 6 - Credit related metrics/Residential Whole Loans

June 30, 2023

Table 7 - Shock Table

The information presented in the following “Shock Table” projects the potential impact of sudden parallel changes in interest rates on the value of our portfolio, including the impact of Swaps and securitized debt, based on the assets in our investment portfolio at June 30, 2023. Changes in portfolio value are measured as the percentage change when comparing the projected portfolio value to the base interest rate scenario at June 30, 2023.

MFA FINANCIAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

MFA FINANCIAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Segment Reporting

At June 30, 2023, the Company’s reportable segments include (i) mortgage-related assets and (ii) Lima One. The Corporate column in the table below primarily consists of corporate cash and related interest income, investments in loan originators and related economics, general and administrative expenses not directly attributable to Lima One, interest expense on unsecured convertible senior notes, securitization issuance costs, and preferred stock dividends.

The following tables summarize segment financial information, which in total reconciles to the same data for the Company as a whole:

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to non-GAAP Distributable Earnings

“Distributable earnings” is a non-GAAP financial measure of our operating performance, within the meaning of Regulation G and Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K, as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Distributable earnings is determined by adjusting GAAP net income/(loss) by removing certain unrealized gains and losses, primarily on residential mortgage investments, associated debt, and hedges that are, in each case, accounted for at fair value through earnings, certain realized gains and losses, as well as certain non-cash expenses and securitization-related transaction costs. Management believes that the adjustments made to GAAP earnings result in the removal of (i) income or expenses that are not reflective of the longer term performance of our investment portfolio, (ii) certain non-cash expenses, and (iii) expense items required to be recognized solely due to the election of the fair value option on certain related residential mortgage assets and associated liabilities. Distributable earnings is one of the factors that our Board of Directors considers when evaluating distributions to our shareholders. Accordingly, we believe that the adjustments to compute Distributable earnings specified below provide investors and analysts with additional information to evaluate our financial results.

Distributable earnings should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. Distributable earnings does not represent and should not be considered as a substitute for net income or cash flows from operating activities, each as determined in accordance with GAAP, and our calculation of this measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of our GAAP net income/(loss) used in the calculation of basic EPS to our non-GAAP Distributable earnings for the quarterly periods below:

The following table presents our non-GAAP Distributable earnings by segment for the quarterly periods below:

Reconciliation of GAAP Book Value per Common Share to non-GAAP Economic Book Value per Common Share

“Economic book value” is a non-GAAP financial measure of our financial position. To calculate our Economic book value, our portfolios of Residential whole loans and securitized debt held at carrying value are adjusted to their fair value, rather than the carrying value that is required to be reported under the GAAP accounting model applied to these financial instruments. These adjustments are also reflected in the table below in our end of period stockholders’ equity. Management considers that Economic book value provides investors with a useful supplemental measure to evaluate our financial position as it reflects the impact of fair value changes for all of our investment activities, irrespective of the accounting model applied for GAAP reporting purposes. Economic book value does not represent and should not be considered as a substitute for Stockholders’ Equity, as determined in accordance with GAAP, and our calculation of this measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of our GAAP book value per common share to our non-GAAP Economic book value per common share as of the quarterly periods below:

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

When used in this press release or other written or oral communications, statements that are not historical in nature, including those containing words such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” the negative of these words or similar expressions, are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results with respect to MFA’s business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. Among the important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements that we make are: general economic developments and trends and the performance of the housing, real estate, mortgage finance, broader financial markets; inflation, increases in interest rates and changes in the market (i.e., fair) value of MFA’s residential whole loans, MBS, securitized debt and other assets, as well as changes in the value of MFA’s liabilities accounted for at fair value through earnings; the effectiveness of hedging transactions; changes in the prepayment rates on residential mortgage assets, an increase of which could result in a reduction of the yield on certain investments in its portfolio and could require MFA to reinvest the proceeds received by it as a result of such prepayments in investments with lower coupons, while a decrease in which could result in an increase in the interest rate duration of certain investments in MFA’s portfolio making their valuation more sensitive to changes in interest rates and could result in lower forecasted cash flows; credit risks underlying MFA’s assets, including changes in the default rates and management’s assumptions regarding default rates on the mortgage loans in MFA’s residential whole loan portfolio; MFA’s ability to borrow to finance its assets and the terms, including the cost, maturity and other terms, of any such borrowings; implementation of or changes in government regulations or programs affecting MFA’s business; MFA’s estimates regarding taxable income, the actual amount of which is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in the amount of interest income and financing costs, the method elected by MFA to accrete the market discount on residential whole loans and the extent of prepayments, realized losses and changes in the composition of MFA’s residential whole loan portfolios that may occur during the applicable tax period, including gain or loss on any MBS disposals or whole loan modifications, foreclosures and liquidations; the timing and amount of distributions to stockholders, which are declared and paid at the discretion of MFA’s Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, MFA’s taxable income, its financial results and overall financial condition and liquidity, maintenance of its REIT qualification and such other factors as MFA’s Board of Directors deems relevant; MFA’s ability to maintain its qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; MFA’s ability to maintain its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (or the “Investment Company Act”), including statements regarding the concept release issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to interpretive issues under the Investment Company Act with respect to the status under the Investment Company Act of certain companies that are engaged in the business of acquiring mortgages and mortgage-related interests; MFA’s ability to continue growing its residential whole loan portfolio, which is dependent on, among other things, the supply of loans offered for sale in the market; targeted or expected returns on our investments in recently-originated mortgage loans, the performance of which is, similar to our other mortgage loan investments, subject to, among other things, differences in prepayment risk, credit risk and financing costs associated with such investments; risks associated with the ongoing operation of Lima One Holdings, LLC (including, without limitation, unanticipated expenditures relating to or liabilities arising from its operation (including, among other things, a failure to realize management’s assumptions regarding expected growth in business purpose loan (BPL) origination volumes and credit risks underlying BPLs, including changes in the default rates and management’s assumptions regarding default rates on the BPLs originated by Lima One)); expected returns on MFA’s investments in nonperforming residential whole loans (“NPLs”), which are affected by, among other things, the length of time required to foreclose upon, sell, liquidate or otherwise reach a resolution of the property underlying the NPL, home price values, amounts advanced to carry the asset (e.g., taxes, insurance, maintenance expenses, etc. on the underlying property) and the amount ultimately realized upon resolution of the asset; risks associated with our investments in MSR-related assets, including servicing, regulatory and economic risks; risks associated with our investments in loan originators; risks associated with investing in real estate assets generally, including changes in business conditions and the general economy; and other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those described in the annual, quarterly and current reports that we file with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations of MFA’s future performance, taking into account information currently available. Readers and listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time and it is not possible to predict those events or how they may affect MFA. Except as required by law, MFA is not obligated to, and does not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.