ADJUSTABLE-RATE MORTGAGES (ARMs) - Adjustable-rate mortgages are loans that have coupons that adjust at least once per year. We make a distinction between ARMs (loans with a rate adjustment at least annually) and hybrids (loans that have a fixed-rate period of 2-10 years and then become adjustable-rate).

AGENCY - Agency refers to government-sponsored enterprises (“GSEs”), including the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), and the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”).

ALT-A SECURITIES and ALT-A LOANS - “Alt-A” was a commonly used descriptor of loans and securities prior to the great financial crisis (i.e., prior to 2009), but is no longer common. Alt-A securities were residential mortgage-backed securities backed by loans that had higher credit quality than subprime and lower credit quality than prime. An Alt-A loan was a loan where the borrower’s income may not have been verified, and in some cases, may not have been disclosed on the loan application. Alt-A loans were also loans with expanded criteria that allowed for higher debt-to-income ratios with higher accompanying loan-to-value ratios than would otherwise have applied to prime loans.

AMORTIZED COST - Amortized cost is the initial acquisition cost of an available-for-sale (“AFS”) security, minus principal repayments or principal reductions through credit losses, plus or minus premium or discount amortization. At the point in time an AFS security is deemed other-than-temporarily impaired, the amortized cost is adjusted (by changing the amount of unamortized premium or discount) by the amount of other-than temporary impairment taken through the income statement.

ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES (ABS) - Asset-backed securities are securities backed by financial assets that generate cash flows. Each ABS issued from a securitization entity has a unique priority with respect to receiving principal and interest cash flows and absorbing any credit losses from the assets owned by the entity.

AVAILABLE CAPITAL - Available Capital represents a combination of capital available for investment and risk capital we hold for liquidity management purposes.

AVAILABLE-FOR-SALE (AFS) - An accounting method for debt and equity securities in which the securities are reported at their fair value. Positive changes in the fair value are accounted for as increases to stockholders’ equity and do not flow through the income statement. Negative changes in fair value may be recognized through the income statement or balance sheet.

BOOK VALUE (GAAP) - Book value is the value of our common equity in accordance with GAAP.

COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (CMBS) - A type of mortgage-backed security that is secured by one or more loans on commercial properties.

CONFORMING LOAN - A conforming loan is a mortgage loan that conforms to the underwriting standards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

CONSTANT (or CONDITIONAL) PREPAYMENT RATE (CPR) - Constant (or conditional) prepayment rate is an industry-standard measure of the speed at which mortgage loans prepay. It approximates the annual percentage rate at which a pool of loans is paying down due to unscheduled principal prepayments.

CREDIT RISK TRANSFER (CRT) INVESTMENTS - Credit risk transfer investments generally refer to transactions in which mortgage loan credit risk is shifted from one party to another, examples of which may include structured debt issuances, credit-linked notes, insurance/reinsurance transactions, front-end or back-end lender risk-sharing transactions, and senior subordinate securities. Among the CRT investments that Redwood holds are CRT transactions it entered into with the Agencies relating to conforming loans.

CREDIT SPREAD - Credit spread is a component of the security representing its credit quality. Credit spread reflects the market perception of changes in prepayment, delinquency and recovery rates, therefore capturing the impact of other variables on the fair value. Changes in credit spread affect the fair value of securities differently depending on the characteristics and maturity profile of the security. For example, credit spread is a more significant driver of the fair value measurement of a high yield bond as compared to an investment grade bond. Generally, the credit spread for an investment grade bond is also more observable and less volatile than its high yield counterpart.

CREDIT SUPPORT - Credit support is the face amount of securities subordinate (or junior) to the applicable security that protects the security from credit losses and is generally expressed as a percentage of the securitization’s underlying pool balance.

DISREGARDED ENTITY - An entity wholly owned, directly or indirectly through other disregarded entities, by another entity (the “parent entity”), whose separate existence from the parent entity is disregarded for federal income tax purposes.

FALLOUT - The percentage of loans that an originator plans or commits to sell to a buyer that ultimately do not close and are not delivered to the buyer.

FASB - Financial Accounting Standards Board.

FHFA - The FHFA refers to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

FHLB and FHLBC - The FHLB refers to the Federal Home Loan Bank system. The FHLBC refers to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

GAAP - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States.

INTEREST-ONLY SECURITIES (IOs) - Interest-only securities are specialized securities created by securitization entities where the projected cash flows generated by the underlying assets exceed the cash flows projected to be paid to the securities that are issued with principal balances. Typically, IOs do not have a principal balance and they will not receive principal payments. Interest payments to IOs usually equal an interest rate formula multiplied by a “notional” principal balance. The notional principal balances for IOs are typically reduced over time as the actual principal balance of the underlying pool of assets pays down, thus reducing the cash flows to the IOs over time. Cash flows on IOs are typically reduced more quickly when asset prepayments increase.

JUMBO LOAN - A jumbo loan is a residential mortgage loan that generally conforms to the underwriting standards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac except that the dollar amount of the loan exceeds the conforming loan limit set annually by the FHFA. See Conforming Loan Definition.

LEGACY RMBS - Residential mortgage-backed securities issued prior to 2009.

LEVERAGE RATIOS - Leverage ratios measure financial leverage and are used to assess a company’s ability to meet its financial obligations. Financial leverage ratios are often expressed as debt to equity and assets to equity. In the mortgage banking industry, financial leverage is most commonly calculated using debt to equity. At Redwood, the two financial leverage ratios used are consolidated GAAP debt to equity and recourse debt (or, debt at Redwood) to equity. The former calculation includes the consolidated ABS issued from certain Sequoia securitization entities even though those obligations are not financial obligations of Redwood but are obligations of each of the consolidated securitization trusts and are payable only from the cash flow from the assets owned by each of those trusts. The latter calculation of recourse debt to equity excludes debt related to consolidated securitizations and only includes debt for which Redwood has an obligation to repay.

LOAN PURCHASE COMMITMENT (LPC) - A commitment to purchase a residential mortgage loan from a mortgage loan originator at a specified price and within a specified time period. A “best efforts” loan purchase commitment becomes effective once the originator has closed the loan with the borrower. A “mandatory” loan purchase commitment becomes effective once the commitment is entered into among the buyer and the originator, regardless of whether the originator has closed the loan. Mortgage buyers such as Redwood often issue 30-to-60-day loan purchase commitments to loan originators so they can in turn offer a similar commitments to their borrowers. To hedge interest rate risk during the commitment period, buyers will often enter into a forward sale commitment or hedge the risk using derivatives. (See Forward Sale Commitment definition.) A loan purchase commitment for a conforming loan qualifies as a derivative in accordance with GAAP. Beginning January 1, 2015, our loan purchase commitment for a non-conforming loan qualifies as a derivative in accordance with GAAP. Any change in the value of a loan purchase commitment is recorded in mortgage banking activities.

LONG-TERM DEBT - Long-term debt is debt that is an obligation of Redwood that is not payable within a year and includes convertible debt, exchangeable debt, junior subordinated notes and trust preferred securities. We generally treat long-term debt as part of our capital base when it is not payable in the near future.

MARK-TO-MARKET (MTM) ACCOUNTING - Mark-to-market accounting uses estimated fair values of assets, liabilities, and hedges. Many assets on our consolidated balance sheet are carried at their fair value rather than amortized cost. Taxable income is generally not affected by mark-to-market fair value changes.

MEZZANINE SECURITIES - Mezzanine securities are a type of subordinate security and refer to the securities in a residential mortgage-backed securitization that are rated AA, A, and BBB. They rank junior to the AAA securities, and senior to the securities rated below BBB which typically include BB and B rated securities, and any non-rated securities.

MORTGAGE SERVICING RIGHT (MSR) - A mortgage servicing right gives the holder the contractual right to service a mortgage loan. MSRs typically include the right to collect monthly mortgage principal and interest payments, as well as related tax and insurance payments, from borrowers, disburse funds to the mortgage debt holders and remit related insurance and tax payments, collect late payments, and process modifications and foreclosures. MSRs are created when mortgage loans are sold in a transaction in which the seller retains the right to service the loans. The holder of an MSR receives a monthly servicing fee (which generally ranges from 0.25% to 0.375% per annum of the outstanding principal balance of the related mortgage loan), which is deducted from the borrower’s monthly interest payments. For accounting purposes, MSRs are capitalized at the net present value of the servicing fee less the servicing cost. When Redwood holds an MSR relating to a residential mortgage loan, it retains a sub-servicer to carry out actual servicing functions, as Redwood does not directly service residential mortgage loans.

MULTIFAMILY SECURITIES - A type of mortgage-backed security that is secured by one or more loans on multifamily properties. Our Investment Portfolio includes securities primarily issued through Freddie Mac’s conventional multifamily securitization platform.

NON-PRIME SECURITIES - Non-prime securities are Alt-A, option ARM, and subprime securities. See definitions of Alt-A, option ARM, and subprime securities.

NON-RECOURSE DEBT - Debt that is secured by collateral, but for which the borrower is not personally liable. If the borrower defaults, the lender may seize the collateral, but cannot seek repayment from the borrower for any unpaid principal or interest, even if the value of the collateral does not cover the unpaid amount due following default.

PRIME RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS - Prime loans are residential loans with higher quality credit characteristics, such as borrowers with relatively higher FICO credit scores, relatively lower loan-to-value ratios, relatively lower debt-to-income ratios, and/or relatively greater levels of other assets.

PRIME SECURITIES - Prime securities are residential mortgage-backed securities backed by prime loans. Prime securities are typically backed by loans that have relatively higher weighted average FICO scores, relatively lower weighted average LTVs, and relatively limited concentrations of investor properties.

PRINCIPAL-ONLY SECURITIES (POs) - Principal-only securities are specialized securities created by securitization entities where the holder is only entitled to receive regular cash flows that are derived from incoming principal repayments on an underlying mortgage loan pool. This security is created by splitting a mortgage-backed security into its interest and principal payments. The principal payments create a stream of cash flows which are sold at a discount to investors. These investors will receive the principal portions of the monthly mortgage payments from the underlying pool of loans. The yield on a PO strip depends on the prepayment speed of the underlying loan. The faster the principal is repaid, the higher the yield an investor will receive.

PROFITABILITY RATIOS - Many financial institution analysts use asset-based profitability ratios such as interest rate spread and interest rate margin when analyzing financial institutions. These are asset-based measures. Since we consolidate the assets and liabilities of certain securitization entities for GAAP purposes, our total GAAP assets and liabilities may vary over time, and may not be comparable to assets typically used in profitability calculations for other financial institutions. As a result, we believe equity-based profitability ratios may be more appropriate than asset-based measures for analyzing Redwood’s operations and results.

QUALIFIED REIT SUBSIDIARY - An entity treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, 100% of the outstanding equity interests of which is owned by a REIT directly or through one or more disregarded entities or qualified REIT subsidiaries, and with respect to which no election is made to treat such entity as a taxable REIT subsidiary. A qualified REIT subsidiary is treated as a disregarded entity with respect to its parent REIT for federal income tax purposes.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) - A real estate investment trust is an entity that makes a tax election to be taxed as a REIT, invests in real estate and real estate-related assets, and meets other requirements for REIT qualification, including the distribution as dividends of at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, excluding net capital gains. A REIT’s REIT taxable income is not taxed at the corporate level to the extent that the REIT taxable income is distributed as dividends to stockholders, providing an operating cost savings. On the other hand, the requirement to pay out as dividends most of the REIT’s REIT taxable income means it can be harder for a REIT to grow using only internally-generated funds (as opposed to raising new capital).

REAL ESTATE OWNED (REO) - Real estate owned refers to real property owned by the lender or loan owner that has been acquired through foreclosure.

REDWOOD CHOICE and REDWOOD SELECT - Redwood Choice is an expanded credit loan acquisition program launched in April 2016. The Choice program is a prime program that is fully documented, but with credit parameters outside Redwood's traditional jumbo loan purchase guidelines. Redwood's traditional prime jumbo loan acquisition program is referred to as Redwood Select.

REIT TAXABLE INCOME - REIT taxable income is a non-GAAP measure calculated for tax purposes for a REIT. REIT taxable income is an important measure as it is the basis of a REIT’s dividend distribution requirements. A REIT must annually distribute at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, excluding net capital gains, as dividends to its shareholders. A REIT is subject to corporate income taxes to the extent it does not distribute 100% of its REIT taxable income, including net capital gains

REMIC - A real estate mortgage investment conduit (“REMIC”) is a special purpose vehicle used to pool real estate mortgages and issue mortgage-backed securities. REMICs are typically exempt from tax at the entity level. REMICs may invest only in qualified mortgages and permitted investments, including single family or multifamily mortgages, commercial mortgages, second mortgages, mortgage participations, and Agency pass-through securities.

RESECURITIZATION - A re-securitization is a securitization of two or more mortgage-backed securities into a new mortgage-backed security.

RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (RMBS) - A type of mortgage-backed security that is backed by a pool of mortgages on residential properties.

RMBS 2.0 - Residential mortgage-backed securities issued after 2008.

SENIOR SECURITIES - Generally, senior securities have the least credit risk in a securitization transaction because they are the last securities to absorb credit losses and have the highest claim on the principal and interest payments (after the fees to servicers and trustees are paid). To further reduce credit risk, most if not all, principal collected from the underlying asset pool is used to pay down the senior securities until certain performance tests are satisfied. If certain performance tests are satisfied, principal payments are shared between the senior securities and the subordinate securities, generally on a pro rata basis. At issuance, senior securities are generally triple A-rated.

SEQUOIA / SEMT – Sequoia (also known as SEMT) is the brand name for Redwood-sponsored securitizations of residential real estate loans. Sequoia entities are independent securitization entities that acquire residential mortgage loans and create and issue asset-backed securities (“ABS”) backed by these loans. These ABS are also referred to as RMBS. Most of the loans that Sequoia entities acquire are prime-quality loans. Most of the senior ABS created by Sequoia are sold to third-party investors. Redwood usually acquires most of the subordinated ABS and may also acquire the IOs.

SHORT-TERM DEBT - Short-term debt is a debt obligation of Redwood payable within a year. We may obtain this form of debt from a variety of Wall Street firms, banks, and other institutions. We may issue this or other forms of short-term debt in the future, use it to finance the accumulation of assets prior to sale or securitization, or to finance investments in loans and securities.

SUBORDINATE SECURITIES (JUNIOR SECURITIES or NON-SENIOR SECURITIES) - Subordinate securities absorb the initial credit losses from a securitization, thus protecting the senior securities. Subordinate securities have a lower priority to receive principal and interest payments than the senior securities. Subordinate securities receive little, if any, principal payments until certain performance tests are satisfied. If certain performance tests are satisfied, principal payments are shared between the senior securities and the subordinate securities, generally on a pro rata basis. Subordinate securities generally receive interest payments even if they do not receive principal payments. At issuance, subordinate securities are generally rated double-A or below.

TAXABLE INCOME - Taxable income is a non-GAAP measure calculated for tax purposes for Redwood and all its subsidiaries.

TAXABLE REIT SUBSIDIARY (TRS) - A corporation in which a REIT directly or indirectly owns stock, that jointly elects with such REIT to have such corporation treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code and that does not directly or indirectly engage in certain prohibited activities. A TRS is subject to corporate income tax on its taxable income. A TRS is not limited to investing in real estate and real estate-related assets and it can choose to retain all of its after-tax profits.

TO BE ANNOUNCED (TBA) - A term used to describe a forward Agency mortgage-backed securities trade. Pass-through securities issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae trade in the TBA market. The term TBA is derived from the fact that the actual mortgage-backed security that will be delivered to fulfill a TBA trade is not designated at the time the trade is made. The securities are “to be announced” 48 hours prior to the established trade settlement date.

TRADING SECURITIES - The trading designation for securities represents an accounting method under GAAP, whereby securities are reported at their fair value with periodic changes in fair value (both unrealized and realized) recognized through the income statement in Investment fair value changes, net.