Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which reflect management’s current views and estimates regarding the prospects of the industry and our prospects, plans, business, results of operations, financial position, future financial performance and business strategy. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “would,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or “illustrative” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot provide any assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward looking statements: conditions in the real estate markets, the financial markets and the economy generally; failure of a third-party servicer or the failure of our own internal servicing system to effectively service our portfolio of mortgage loans; the high degree of risk involved in loans to small businesses, self-employed borrowers, properties in transition, and certain portions of our investment real estate portfolio; additional or increased risks if we change our business model or create new or modified real estate lending products; possibility of receiving inaccurate and/or incomplete information from potential borrowers, guarantors and loan sellers; deficiencies in appraisal quality in the mortgage loan origination process; competition in the market for loan origination and acquisition opportunities; risks associated with our underwriting guidelines and our ability to change our underwriting guidelines; loss of our key personnel or our inability to hire and retain qualified account executives; any inability to manage future growth effectively or failure to develop, enhance and implement strategies to adapt to changing conditions in the real estate and capital markets; risks associated with our ability to successfully identify, acquire, and integrate companies and assets; operational risks, including the risk of cyberattacks, or disruption in the availability and/or functionality of our technology infrastructure and systems; any inability of our borrowers to generate net income from operating the property that secures our loans; the interest margin, cost structure and return on equity of our existing and future securitizations; costs or delays involved in the completion of a foreclosure or liquidation of the underlying property; lender liability claims, requirements that we repurchase mortgage loans or indemnify investors, or allegations of violations of predatory lending laws; economic downturns or natural disasters in geographies where our assets are concentrated; disruptions to business, market and operational conditions related to coronavirus, COVID-19, or an outbreak of another highly infectious or contagious disease; environmental liabilities with respect to properties to which we take title; inadequate insurance on collateral underlying mortgage loans and real estate securities; use of incorrect, misleading or incomplete information in our analytical models and data; failure to realize a price upon disposal of portfolio assets that are recorded at fair value; any inability to successfully complete additional securitization transactions on attractive terms or at all; the termination of one or more of our warehouse repurchase facilities; interest rate fluctuations or mismatches between our loans and our borrowings; legal or regulatory developments related to mortgage-related assets, securitizations or state licensing and operational requirements; our ability to maintain our exclusion under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; fiscal policies or inaction at the U.S. federal government level, which may lead to federal government shutdowns or negative impacts on the U.S. economy; cyber-attacks and our ability to comply with laws, regulations and market standards regarding the privacy, use, and security of customer information; the influence of certain of our large stockholders over us; adverse legislative or regulatory changes; and other factors and cautionary statements we make in our current and periodic filings with the SEC. Our periodic filings are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although the we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.