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Redwood Trust
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Redwood Trust

Note 1. Redwood Trust

Redwood Trust, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on investing in mortgage- and other real estate-related assets and engaging in residential and commercial mortgage banking activities. We seek to invest in real estate-related assets that have the potential to generate attractive cash flow returns over time and to generate income through our residential and commercial mortgage banking activities.

Our primary sources of income are net interest income from our investment portfolios and noninterest income from our mortgage banking activities. Net interest income consists of the interest income we earn on investments less the interest expense we incur on borrowed funds and other liabilities. Income from mortgage banking activities consists of the profit we seek to generate through the acquisition or origination of loans and their subsequent sale or securitization. References herein to “Redwood,” the “company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” include Redwood Trust, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires.

We operate our business in three segments: residential mortgage banking, residential investments, and commercial mortgage banking and investments.

Our residential mortgage banking segment primarily consists of operating a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale through securitization or as whole loans. Jumbo loans we acquire are typically sold through private-label securitization through our Sequoia securitization program or to institutions that acquire pools of whole loans. Conforming loans we acquire are generally sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “Agencies”). Our residential loan acquisitions are usually made on a flow basis, after origination by banks or mortgage companies, and are periodically augmented by bulk acquisitions. Our acquisition and accumulation of residential loans is generally funded with equity and short-term debt. This segment also includes various derivative financial instruments and IO securities retained from our Sequoia securitizations that we utilize to manage certain risks associated with residential loans we acquire. Our residential mortgage banking segment’s main source of revenue is mortgage banking income, which includes valuation increases (or gains) on the loans we acquire for sale or securitization as well as valuation changes in associated derivatives and IO securities that are used in part to manage risks associated with our mortgage banking activities. Additionally, this segment may generate interest income on loans held for future sale or securitization and interest income from IO securities. Interest expense on short-term debt used to fund the purchase of residential loans, direct operating expenses and tax provisions associated with these activities are also included in the residential mortgage banking segment.

Our residential investments segment includes a portfolio of investments in residential mortgage-backed securities retained from our Sequoia securitizations, as well as residential mortgage-backed securities issued by third parties. This segment also includes mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”) associated with residential loans securitized through our Sequoia program or sold to third parties and MSRs purchased from third parties as well as residential loans acquired and held-for-investment. The residential investment segment’s main sources of revenue are interest income from investment portfolio securities and residential loans held-for-investment, as well as the realized gains recognized upon sales of these securities and income from MSRs. This segment also includes derivative financial instruments that we utilize to manage certain risks associated with our residential investment portfolio. Also included in this segment is interest expense on the short-term debt and asset-backed securities (“ABS”) used to partially finance certain of these securities, as well as direct operating expenses and tax provisions associated with these activities.

Our commercial mortgage banking and investments segment consists of our commercial mortgage banking operations as well as our portfolio of held-for-investment commercial real estate loans. We operate as a commercial real estate lender by originating mortgage loans and providing other forms of commercial real estate financing. This may include senior or subordinate mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, and other forms of financing, such as preferred equity interests in special purpose entities that own commercial real estate. We typically sell the senior loans we originate to third parties for securitization and the mezzanine and subordinate loans we originate are generally held for investment. This segment also includes derivative financial instruments that we utilize to manage certain risks associated with our commercial loan origination activity. Our commercial mortgage banking and investments segment’s main sources of revenue are interest income from our commercial loan investments as well as income from mortgage banking activities, which includes valuation increases (or gains) on the senior commercial loans we originate for sale as well as valuation changes in associated derivatives that are used to manage risks associated with our mortgage banking activities. Interest expense from a commercial securitization we engaged in during 2012 (“Commercial Securitization”) and from short-term and long-term debt used to fund the purchase of commercial loans as well as operating expenses and tax provisions associated with these activities are also included in the commercial mortgage banking and investments segment.

 

Redwood was incorporated in the State of Maryland on April 11, 1994, and commenced operations on August 19, 1994. Our executive offices are located at One Belvedere Place, Suite 300, Mill Valley, California 94941.