LADR US Equity☆

ladr-20201231

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

Or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number:

001-36299

Ladder Capital Corp

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(212) 715-3170

(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 Each Exchange on Which Registered

Class A common stock, $0.001 par value LADR New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required 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☒ 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 (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ 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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the 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. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):

Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the Class A common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $855,736,869 as of June 30, 2020, based on the closing price of the registrant’s Class A common stock reported on the New York Stock Exchange on such date of $8.10 per share. The registrant has no non-voting common stock.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

Class Outstanding at February 19, 2021

Class B common stock, $0.001 par value —

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive proxy statement for the Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders have been incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.

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LADDER CAPITAL CORP

FORM 10-K

December 31, 2020

Index Page

PART I

Item 1. Business 5

Item 1A. Risk Factors 22

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 56

Item 2. Properties 57

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 57

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 57

PART II

Item 6. Selected Financial Data 61

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 88

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 91

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 194

Item 9B. Other Information 195

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 196

Item 11. Executive Compensation 196

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 196

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 197

EXHIBIT INDEX

SIGNATURES

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Annual Report, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “can have,” “likely,” “continue,” “design,” and other words and terms of similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Our future financial position and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. You should consider our forward-looking statements in light of a number of factors that may cause actual results to vary from our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to:

•risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report, as well as our consolidated financial statements, related notes, and the other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report and our other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”);

•the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and of responsive measures implemented by various governmental authorities, businesses and other third parties;

•the impact of the new U.S. presidential administration and congressional majority on the regulatory landscape, capital markets, and the response to, and management of, the COVID-19 pandemic;

•changes in general economic conditions, in our industry and in the commercial finance and the real estate markets;

•changes to our business and investment strategy;

•our ability to obtain and maintain financing arrangements;

•the financing and advance rates for our assets, including the potential effects of LIBOR replacement rates;

•our actual and expected leverage and liquidity;

•the adequacy of collateral securing our loan portfolio and a decline in the fair value of our assets;

•interest rate mismatches between our assets and our borrowings used to fund such investments;

•changes in interest rates and the market value of our assets;

•changes in prepayment rates on our mortgages and the loans underlying our mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities;

•the effects of hedging instruments and the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate and credit risk volatility;

•the increased rate of default or decreased recovery rates on our assets;

•the adequacy of our policies, procedures and systems for managing risk effectively;

•a potential downgrade in the credit ratings assigned to Ladder or our investments;

•our compliance with, and the impact of and changes in laws, governmental regulations, accounting guidance and similar matters;

•our ability to maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes and our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to operate in compliance with REIT requirements;

•our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to maintain our and their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

•potential liability relating to environmental matters that impact the value of properties we may acquire or the properties underlying our investments;

•the inability of insurance covering real estate underlying our loans and investments to cover all losses;

•the availability of investment opportunities in mortgage-related and real estate-related instruments and other securities;

•fraud by potential borrowers;

•the availability of qualified personnel;

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•the impact of any tax legislation or IRS guidance;

•the degree and nature of our competition; and

•the market trends in our industry, interest rates, real estate values and the debt securities markets.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report are made as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements.

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REFERENCES TO LADDER CAPITAL CORP

Ladder Capital Corp is a holding company, and its primary assets are a controlling equity interest in Ladder Capital Finance Holdings LLLP (“LCFH” or the “Operating Partnership”) and in each series thereof, directly or indirectly. Unless the context suggests otherwise, references in this report to “Ladder,” “Ladder Capital,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer (1) prior to the February 2014 initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Class A common stock of Ladder Capital Corp and related transactions, to LCFH (“Predecessor”) and its consolidated subsidiaries and (2) after our IPO and related transactions, to Ladder Capital Corp and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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Part I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are an internally-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that is a leader in commercial real estate finance. We originate and invest in a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate and real estate-related assets, focusing on senior secured assets. Our investment activities include: (i) our primary business of originating senior first mortgage fixed and floating rate loans collateralized by commercial real estate with flexible loan structures; (ii) investing in investment grade securities secured by first mortgage loans on commercial real estate; and (iii) owning and operating commercial real estate, including net leased commercial properties. We believe that our in-house origination platform, ability to flexibly allocate capital among complementary product lines, credit-centric underwriting approach, access to diversified financing sources, and experienced management team position us well to deliver attractive returns on equity to our shareholders through economic and credit cycles.

Our businesses, including balance sheet lending, conduit lending, securities investments, and real estate investments, provide for a stable base of net interest and rental income. We have originated $25.8 billion of commercial real estate loans from our inception in October 2008 through December 31, 2020. During this timeframe, we also acquired $12.7 billion of predominantly investment grade-rated securities secured by first mortgage loans on commercial real estate and $1.8 billion of selected net leased and other real estate assets.

As part of our commercial mortgage lending operations, we originate conduit loans, which are first mortgage loans on stabilized, income producing commercial real estate properties that we intend to make available for sale in commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) securitizations. From our inception through December 31, 2020, we originated $16.6 billion of conduit loans, which were sold into 69 CMBS securitizations, making us, by volume, the second largest non-bank contributor of loans to CMBS securitizations in the United States in such period. Our sales of loans into securitizations are generally accounted for as true sales, not financings, and we generally retain no ongoing interest in loans which we securitize unless we are required to do so as issuer pursuant to the risk retention requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The securitization of conduit loans enables us to reinvest our equity capital into new loan originations or allocate it to other investments.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $5.9 billion in total assets and $1.5 billion of total equity. Our assets primarily consist of $2.3 billion of loans, $1.1 billion of securities, $1.0 billion of real estate, and $1.3 billion of unrestricted cash.

We maintain a diversified and flexible financing strategy supporting our investment strategy and overall business operations, including unsecured corporate bonds and significant committed term financing from leading financial institutions. Refer to “Our Financing Strategies” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further information.

Ladder was founded in October 2008 and we completed our IPO in February 2014. We are led by a disciplined and highly aligned management team. As of December 31, 2020, our management team and directors held interests in our Company comprising 10.8% of our total equity. On average, our management team members have 27 years of experience in the industry. Our management team includes Brian Harris, Chief Executive Officer; Pamela McCormack, President; Marc Fox, Chief Financial Officer; Robert Perelman, Head of Asset Management; and Kelly Porcella, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel. Kevin Moclair, Chief Accounting Officer, is an additional officer of Ladder. Additionally, effective March 1, 2021, Paul J. Miceli, the Company’s Director of Finance, will succeed Marc Fox as Chief Financial Officer (refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Business Developments - Recent Developments”). As of December 31, 2020, we employed 58 full-time industry professionals.

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COVID-19 Impact on the Organization

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. As of the date of this filing, the majority of our employees continue to work remotely in compliance with state guidelines. We continue to actively manage the liquidity and operations of the Company in light of the market conditions and overall financial impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across most industries in the United States. The Company has disclosed the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our business throughout this Annual Report. However, given the ongoing uncertainty related to the severity and duration of the pandemic, its ultimate impact on our revenues, profitability and financial position is difficult to assess.

Our Businesses

We invest primarily in loans, securities and other interests in U.S. commercial real estate, with a focus on senior secured assets. Our complementary business segments are designed to provide us with the flexibility to opportunistically allocate capital in order to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns under varying market conditions. The following table summarizes the carrying value of our investment portfolio as reported in our consolidated financial statements as of the dates indicated below ($ in thousands):

Loans

Balance sheet loans:

Securities

Equity securities — — % 12,980 0.2 %

Allowance for current expected credit losses (20) — % — — %

Real Estate

Other Investments

The unique nature of COVID-19 has had a broad impact on commercial real estate, specifically the hotel and retail sectors. Loans on hotel and retail properties comprised approximately 12.5% and 11.3%, respectively, of our loan portfolio at December 31, 2020. Hotel and retail properties comprised approximately 6.0% and 47.0%, respectively, of our real estate portfolio at December 31, 2020; however, the majority of our retail properties are necessity-based businesses and have remained open and stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are in regular communication with our borrowers and tenants and are closely monitoring property performance.

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Loans

Balance Sheet First Mortgage Loans. We originate and invest in balance sheet first mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate properties that are typically undergoing transition, including lease-up, sell-out, and renovation or repositioning. These mortgage loans are structured to fit the needs and business plans of the property owners, and generally have LIBOR based floating rates and terms (including extension options) ranging from one to five years. Our loans are directly originated by an internal team that has longstanding and strong relationships with borrowers and mortgage brokers throughout the United States. We follow a rigorous investment process, which begins with an initial due diligence review; continues through a comprehensive legal and underwriting process incorporating multiple internal and external checks and balances; and culminates in approval or disapproval of each prospective investment by our Investment Committee. Balance sheet first mortgage loans in excess of $50.0 million also require the approval of our board of directors’ Risk and Underwriting Committee.

We generally seek to hold our balance sheet first mortgage loans for investment although we also maintain the flexibility to contribute such loans into a collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) or similar structure, sell participation interests or “b-notes” in our mortgage loans or sell such mortgage loans as whole loans. Our balance sheet first mortgage loans have been typically repaid at or prior to maturity (including by being refinanced by us into a new conduit first mortgage loan upon property stabilization). As of December 31, 2020, we held a portfolio of 99 balance sheet first mortgage loans with an aggregate book value of $2.2 billion. Based on the loan balances and the “as-is” third-party Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) appraised values at origination, the weighted average loan-to-value ratio of this portfolio was 67.4% at December 31, 2020.

We continue to actively manage and monitor the credit and liquidity risk associated with the balance sheet first mortgage loan portfolio. Due to the nationwide limitations placed on many businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, significant cash flow disruptions have occurred across the economy, which have impacted and likely will continue to impact certain of our borrowers. We have used, and continue to use, a variety of legal and structural options to manage that risk effectively, including forbearance and default provisions, as is generally being utilized throughout the credit lending industries.

Other Commercial Real Estate-Related Loans. We selectively invest in note purchase financings, subordinated debt, mezzanine debt and other structured finance products related to commercial real estate that are generally held for investment. As of December 31, 2020, we held a portfolio of 23 other commercial real estate-related loans with an aggregate book value of $121.3 million. Based on the loan balance and the “as-is” third-party FIRREA appraised values at origination, the weighted average loan-to-value ratio of the portfolio was 66.6% at December 31, 2020.

Conduit First Mortgage Loans. We also originate conduit loans, which are first mortgage loans that are secured by cash-flowing commercial real estate and are available for sale to securitizations. These first mortgage loans are typically structured with fixed interest rates and generally have five- to ten-year terms. Conduit first mortgage loans are originated, underwritten, approved and funded using the same comprehensive legal and underwriting approach, process and personnel used to originate our balance sheet first mortgage loans. Conduit first mortgage loans in excess of $50.0 million also require approval of our board of directors’ Risk and Underwriting Committee.

Although our primary intent is to sell our conduit first mortgage loans to CMBS trusts, we generally seek to maintain the flexibility to keep them on our balance sheet, sell participation interests or “b-notes” in such loans or sell the loans as whole loans. As of December 31, 2020, we held four first mortgage loans that were available for contribution into a securitization with an aggregate book value of $30.5 million. Based on the loan balances and the “as-is” third-party FIRREA appraised values at origination, the weighted average loan- to-value ratio of this portfolio was 66.7% at December 31, 2020. The Company holds these conduit loans in its taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”).

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The following charts set forth our total outstanding balance sheet first mortgage loans, other commercial real estate-related loans, and conduit first mortgage loans as of December 31, 2020 and a breakdown of our loan portfolio by loan size and geographic location and asset type of the underlying real estate.

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Securities

CMBS Investments. We invest in CMBS, including CRE CLOs, secured by first mortgage loans on commercial real estate and own predominantly AAA-rated securities. These investments provide a stable and attractive base of net interest income and help us manage our liquidity. We have significant in-house expertise in the evaluation and trading of these securities, due in part to our experience in originating and underwriting mortgage loans that comprise assets within CMBS trusts, as well as our experience in structuring CMBS transactions. AAA-rated CMBS or U.S. Agency securities investments in excess of $76.0 million and all other investment grade CMBS or U.S. Agency securities investments in excess of $51.0 million, each in any single class of any single issuance, require the approval of our board of directors’ Risk and Underwriting Committee. The Risk and Underwriting Committee also must approve any investments in non-rated or sub-investment grade CMBS or U.S. Agency Securities in any single class of any single issuance in excess of the lesser of (x) $21.0 million and (y) 10% of the total net asset value of the respective Ladder investment company.

The Company invests in primarily AAA-rated real estate securities, typically front pay securities, with relatively short duration and significant subordination. The hyperamortization features included in many of the securities positions we own help mitigate potential credit losses even in the current market conditions. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, there was a significant decrease in liquidity and trading activity for the real estate securities we own. During the three months ended December 31, 2020, liquidity and trading activity continued to return to the market and the value of our securities portfolio as of December 31, 2020 had an unrealized mark-to-market gain of $18.1 million.

As of December 31, 2020, the estimated fair value of our portfolio of CMBS investments totaled $1.0 billion in 105 CUSIPs ($9.8 million average investment per CUSIP). As of December 31, 2020, included in the $1.0 billion of CMBS securities are $11.7 million of CMBS securities designated as risk retention securities under the Dodd-Frank Act which are subject to transfer restrictions over the term of the securitization trust. The following chart summarizes our securities investments, 94.4% of which were rated investment grade by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or Fitch Ratings Inc. as of December 31, 2020:

In the future, we may invest in CMBS securities or other securities that are unrated. As of December 31, 2020, our CMBS investments had a weighted average duration of 2.0 years. The commercial real estate collateral underlying our CMBS investment portfolio is located throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2020, by property count and market value, respectively, 53.2% and 74.2% of the collateral underlying our CMBS investment portfolio was distributed throughout the top 25 metropolitan statistical areas (“MSAs”) in the United States, with 7.9% and 37.6%, by property count and market value, respectively, of the collateral located in the New York-Newark-Edison MSA, and the concentrations in each of the remaining top 24 MSAs ranging from 0.2% to 4.5% by property count and 0.1% to 10.6% by market value.

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Real Estate

Net Leased Commercial Real Estate Properties. As of December 31, 2020, we owned 164 single tenant net leased properties with an aggregate book value of $639.6 million. These properties are fully leased on a net basis where the tenant is generally responsible for payment of real estate taxes, property, building and general liability insurance and property and building maintenance expenses. As of December 31, 2020, our net leased properties comprised a total of 5.3 million square feet, 100% leased with an average age since construction of 15.7 years and a weighted average remaining lease term of 11.4 years. Commercial real estate investments in excess of $20.0 million require the approval of our board of directors’ Risk and Underwriting Committee. The majority of the net leased properties in our real estate portfolio are necessity-based businesses and have remained open and stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the three months ended December 31, 2020, we collected 100% of rent on these properties.

Diversified Commercial Real Estate Properties. As of December 31, 2020, we owned 62 diversified commercial real estate properties throughout the U.S. During the three months ended December 31, 2020, we collected approximately 96.4% of rent on these properties.

The following charts summarize the composition of our real estate investments as at December 31, 2020:

Residential Real Estate. The Company, from time to time, has made investments in residential real estate, including condominium developments. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company sold its remaining investment in such investments for immaterial gains.

The market conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic disruption have broadly impacted the commercial real estate sector. As expected, the net leased commercial real estate properties, which comprise the majority of our portfolio, have remained minimally impacted as the majority of the net leased properties in our real estate portfolio are necessity-based businesses and have remained open and stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to actively monitor our diversified commercial real estate properties as well to determine the immediate and long term impacts on the buildings, tenants, business plans and the ability to execute those business plans.

Other Investments

Unconsolidated Joint Venture. In connection with the origination of a loan in April 2012, we received a 25% equity interest with the right to convert upon a capital event. On March 22, 2013, we refinanced the loan, and we converted our equity interest into a 19% limited liability company membership interest in Grace Lake JV, LLC (“Grace Lake LLC”). As of December 31, 2020, Grace Lake LLC owned an office building campus with a carrying value of $50.9 million, which is net of accumulated depreciation of $36.5 million, that is financed by $61.6 million of long-term debt. Debt of Grace Lake LLC is non-recourse to the limited liability company members, except for customary non-recourse carve-outs for certain actions and environmental liability. As of December 31, 2020, the book value of our investment in Grace Lake LLC was $4.0 million.

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Unconsolidated Joint Venture. On August 7, 2015, the Company entered into a joint venture, 24 Second Avenue Holdings LLC (“24 Second Avenue”), with an operating partner (the “Operating Partner”) to invest in a ground-up residential/retail condominium development and construction project located at 24 Second Avenue, New York, NY. 24 Second Avenue consists of residential condominium units and one commercial condominium unit. As of December 31, 2020, 24 Second Avenue had sold 20 residential condominium units for $53.0 million in sales proceeds. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no remaining additional capital commitment to 24 Second Avenue and the book value of the Company’s investment in 24 Second Avenue was $42.2 million.

FHLB Stock. Tuebor Captive Insurance Company LLC (“Tuebor”) is a member of the FHLB. Each member of the FHLB must purchase and hold FHLB stock as a condition of initial and continuing membership, in proportion to their borrowings from the FHLB and levels of certain assets. The Company earns dividend income on FHLB stock and it is redeemable by Tuebor upon five years’ prior written notice, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. Under certain conditions, the FHLB may also, at its sole discretion, repurchase FHLB stock from its members. As of December 31, 2020, the book value of our investment in FHLB Stock was $31.0 million.

Investment Process

Origination

Our team of originators is responsible for sourcing and directly originating new commercial first mortgage loans from the brokerage community and directly from real estate owners, operators, developers and investors. The extensive industry experience of our management team and origination team has enabled us to build a strong network of mortgage brokers and direct borrowers throughout the commercial real estate community in the United States.

Credit and Underwriting

Our underwriting and credit process commences upon receipt of a potential borrower’s executed loan application and non-refundable deposit.

Our underwriters conduct a thorough due diligence process for each prospective investment. The team coordinates in-house and third-party due diligence for each prospective loan as part of a checklist-based process that is designed to ensure that each loan receives a systematic evaluation. Elements of the underwriting process generally include:

Cash Flow Analysis. We create an estimated cash flow analysis and underwriting model for each prospective investment. Creation of the cash flow analysis generally draws on an assessment of current and historical data related to the property’s rent roll, operating expenses, net operating income, leasing cost, and capital expenditures. Underwriting evaluates and factors in assumptions regarding current market rents, vacancy rates, operating expenses, tenant improvements, leasing commissions, replacement reserves, renewal probabilities and concession packages based on observable conditions in the subject property’s sub-market at the time of underwriting. The cash flow analysis may also rely upon third-party environmental and engineering reports to estimate the cost to repair or remediate any identified environmental and/or property-level deficiencies. The final underwritten cash flow analysis is used to estimate the property’s overall value and its ability to produce cash flow to service the proposed loan.

Borrower Analysis. Careful attention is also paid to the proposed borrower, including an analysis based on available information of its credit history, financial standing, existing portfolio and sponsor exposure to leverage and contingent liabilities, capacity and capability to manage and lease the collateral, depth of organization, knowledge of the local market, and understanding of the proposed product type. We also generally commission and review a third-party background check of our prospective borrower and sponsor.

Site Inspection. A Ladder underwriter typically conducts a physical site inspection of each property. The site inspection gives the underwriter insights into the local market and the property’s positioning within it, confirms that tenants are in-place, and generally helps to ensure that the property has the characteristics, qualities, and potential value represented by the borrower.

Legal Due Diligence. Our in-house transaction management team includes experienced attorneys that manage, negotiate, structure and close all transactions and complete legal due diligence on each property, borrower, and sponsor, including evaluating documents such as leases, title, title insurance, opinion letters, tenant estoppels, organizational documents, and other agreements and documents related to the property or the loan.

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Third-party Appraisal. We generally commission an appraisal from a member of the Appraisal Institute to provide an independent opinion of value as well as additional supporting property and market data. Appraisals generally include detailed data on recent property sales, local rents, vacancy rates, supply, absorption, demographics and employment, as well as a detailed projected cash flow and valuation analysis. We typically use the independent appraiser’s valuation to calculate ratios such as loan-to-value and loan-to-stabilized-value ratio, as well as to serve as an independent source to which the in-house cash flow and valuation model can be compared.

Third-party Engineering Report. We generally engage an approved licensed engineer to complete property condition/engineering reports and a seismic report for applicable properties. The engineering report is intended to identify any issues with respect to the safety and soundness of a property that may warrant further investigation, and provide estimates of ongoing replacement reserves, overall replacement cost, and the cost to bring a property into good repair.

Third-party Environmental Report. We also generally engage an approved environmental consulting firm to complete a Phase I Environmental Assessment to identify and evaluate potential environmental issues at the property and may also order and review Phase II Environmental Assessments and/or Operations & Maintenance plans if applicable. Environmental reports and supporting documentation are typically reviewed in-house as well as by our dedicated outside environmental counsel who prepares a summary report on each property.

Third-party Insurance Review. A third-party insurance specialist reviews each prospective borrower’s existing insurance program to analyze the specific risk exposure of each property and to ensure that coverage is in compliance with our standard insurance requirements. Our transaction management team oversees this third-party review and makes the conclusions of their analysis available to the underwriting team.

A credit memorandum is prepared to summarize the results of the underwriting and due diligence process for the consideration of the Investment Committee. We thoroughly document the due diligence process up to, and including, the credit memorandum and maintain an organized digital archive of our work.

Transaction Management

The transaction management team is generally responsible for coordinating and managing outside counsel, working directly with originators, underwriters and borrowers to manage, structure, negotiate and close all transactions, including the securitization of our loans. The transaction management team plays an integral role in the legal underwriting of each property, consults with outside counsel on significant business, credit and/or legal issues, and facilitates the funding and closing of all investments and dispositions. The transaction management team also supports asset management and investment realization activities, including coordination of post-closing issues and assistance with loan sales, financings, refinancing and repayments.

Investment Committee Approval

All loan and real estate investments require approval from our Investment Committee, comprised of Brian Harris, CEO; Pamela McCormack, President; and Michael Scarola, Chief Credit Officer. The Investment Committee generally requires each investment to be fully described in a comprehensive Investment Committee memorandum that identifies the investment, the due diligence conducted and the findings, as well as all identified related risks and mitigants. The Investment Committee meets regularly to ensure that all investments are fully vetted prior to issuance of Investment Committee approval.

In addition to Investment Committee approval, the Risk and Underwriting Committee of our board of directors approves all loan and real estate investments above certain thresholds, which are currently set at $50.0 million for loans and $20.0 million for real estate investments.

Financing

Prior to securitization or other disposition, or in the case of balance sheet loans, maturity, we evaluate most of the loans we originate for secured financing using our multiple committed term facilities from leading financial institutions. Our finance team endeavors to match the characteristics and expected holding periods of the assets being financed with the characteristics of the financing options available and our short and long term cash needs in determining the appropriate financing approaches to be applied. The approaches we apply to financing our assets are a key component of our asset/liability risk management strategy with respect to managing liquidity risk. These approaches, supplemented by the use of hedging primarily via the use of standard derivative instruments, facilitate the prudent management of our interest rate and credit spread exposures. Refer to “Our Financing Strategies” for further information.

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Asset Management

Our in-house asset management team pro-actively manages the Company’s loan and real estate portfolios, demonstrating our Company-wide focus and emphasis on principal preservation and maximizing asset performance. The asset management team, together with our underwriting and transaction management teams, monitors the credit performance of our investment portfolio in concert with our third-party servicers and property managers, working closely with borrowers and/or joint-venture partners to manage all of our positions and monitor financial performance of our collateral assets, including execution of business plans and daily activities within our real estate portfolio. We focus on asset-specific issues and market surveillance, active enforcement of loan and security rights, and regular review of potential disposition strategies. Ladder performs detailed asset reviews, endeavors to perform periodic site inspections on every investment and provides comprehensive internal asset-level performance reporting. As applicable, we evaluate loan modifications, debt and/or equity recapitalizations and other changes or variations to a borrower’s or joint venture partner’s business plan or budget and recommend a course of action to the Investment Committee.

Disposition and Distribution

Our securitization team works with our transaction management and underwriting teams to realize our disposition strategy of selling certain first mortgage loans into CMBS securitization trusts. We typically partner with other leading financial institutions to contribute loans to multi-asset securitizations. We have also led single asset securitizations on single loans we have originated.

In addition to contributing first mortgage loans into CMBS securitization trusts, we also maintain the flexibility to keep such loans on our balance sheet, contribute loans into a CLO or similar structure, sell participation interests or “b-notes” in our first mortgage loans or sell first mortgage loans as whole loans. Balance sheet loans that are refinanced by us into a new conduit first mortgage loan upon property stabilization and intended for securitization are re-underwritten and structured by our origination, underwriting and transaction management teams and approved by our Investment Committee.

Our asset management team also manages sales of our real property.

Factors Impacting Operating Results

There are a number of factors that influence our operating results in a meaningful way. The most significant factors include: (1) our competition; (2) market and economic conditions, including the continuing impact from COVID-19 on the economy; (3) loan origination and repayment volume; (4) profitability of securitizations; (5) avoidance of credit losses; (6) availability of debt and equity funding and the costs of that funding; (7) the net interest margin on our investments; (8) effectiveness of our hedging and other risk management practices; (9) real estate transaction volumes; (10) occupancy rates; and (11) expense management.

Our Financing Strategies

Our financing strategies are critical to the success and growth of our business. We manage our financing to complement our asset composition and to diversify our exposure across multiple capital markets and counterparties. In addition to cash flow from operations, we fund our operations and investment strategy through a diverse array of funding sources, including:

•Unsecured corporate bonds

•Secured loan and securities repurchase facilities

•Loan sales and securitizations

•Secured financing facility

•CLO transactions

•Non-recourse mortgage debt

•FHLB financing

•Revolving credit facility

•Unencumbered assets available for financing

•Equity

From time to time, we may add financing counterparties that we believe will complement our business, although the agreements governing our indebtedness may limit our ability and the ability of our present and future subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness. Our amended and restated charter and by-laws do not impose any threshold limits on our ability to use leverage. Refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and

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Capital Resources” and Note 7 Debt Obligations, Net in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information about our financing arrangements.

Unsecured Corporate Bonds

As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.6 billion of unsecured corporate bonds outstanding. These unsecured financings were comprised of $146.7 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.875% senior notes due 2021 (the “2021 Notes”), $465.9 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.25% senior notes due 2022 (the “2022 Notes”), $348.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.25% senior notes due 2025 (the “2025 Notes”) and $651.8 million in aggregate principal amount of 4.25% senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes,” collectively with the 2021 Notes, the 2022 Notes and the 2025 Notes, the “Notes”). During the year ended December 31, 2020, we repurchased an aggregate principal of the Notes of $303.9 million, recognizing an aggregate gain on extinguishment of debt of $20.1 million. Refer to Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail.

Due in large part to devoting such a large portion of the Company’s capital structure to equity and unsecured corporate bond debt, Ladder maintains a $2.8 billion pool of unencumbered assets, comprised primarily of first mortgage loans and unrestricted cash as of December 31, 2020.

Committed Loan Financing Facilities

We are parties to multiple committed loan repurchase agreement facilities, totaling $1.6 billion of credit capacity. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $255.4 million of borrowings outstanding, with an additional $1.3 billion of committed financing available. Assets pledged as collateral under these facilities are generally limited to first mortgage whole mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and certain interests in such first mortgage and mezzanine loans. Our repurchase facilities include covenants covering net worth requirements, minimum liquidity levels, and maximum debt/equity ratios.

We have the option to extend some of our existing facilities subject to a number of customary conditions. The lenders have sole discretion to include collateral in these facilities and to determine the market value of the collateral on a daily basis, and, if the estimated market value of the included collateral declines, the lenders have the right to require additional collateral or a full and/or partial repayment of the facilities (margin call) sufficient to rebalance the facilities. Typically, the lender establishes a maximum percentage of the collateral asset’s market value that can be borrowed. We often borrow at a lower percentage of the collateral asset’s value than the maximum, leaving us with excess borrowing capacity that can be drawn upon at a later date and/or applied against future margin calls so that they can be satisfied on a cashless basis.

Securities Repurchase Facilities

We are a party to a committed term master repurchase agreement with a major U.S. banking institution for CMBS, totaling $400.0 million of credit capacity, or more depending on our utilization of a loan repurchase facility with the same lender. As we do in the case of borrowings under committed loan facilities, we often borrow at a lower percentage of the collateral asset’s value than the maximum, leaving us with excess borrowing capacity that can be drawn upon at a later date and/or applied against future margin calls so that they can be satisfied on a cashless basis. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $149.6 million borrowings outstanding, with an additional $638.4 million of committed financing available.

Additionally, we are a party to multiple uncommitted master repurchase agreements with several counterparties to finance our investments in CMBS and U.S. Agency Securities. The securities that served as collateral for these borrowings are typically AAA-rated CMBS with relatively short duration and significant subordination. The lenders have sole discretion to determine the market value of the collateral on a daily basis, and, if the estimated market value of the collateral declines, the lenders have the right to require additional cash collateral. If the estimated market value of the collateral subsequently increases, we have the right to call back excess cash collateral.

Revolving Credit Facility

The Company’s revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) provides for an aggregate maximum borrowing amount of $266.4 million, including a $25.0 million sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit. The Revolving Credit Facility is available on a revolving basis to finance the Company’s working capital needs and for general corporate purposes. The Revolving Credit Facility has a final maturity date, assuming all extensions options are exercised, of February 2025. The amendment also provided for a reduction in the interest rate to one-month LIBOR plus 3.00% on Eurodollar advances upon the upgrade of the Company’s credit ratings, which occurred in January 2020.

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The obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed by the Company and certain of its subsidiaries. The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by a pledge of the shares of (or other ownership or equity interests in) certain subsidiaries to the extent the pledge is not restricted under existing regulations, law or contractual obligations.

LCFH is subject to customary affirmative covenants and negative covenants, including limitations on the incurrence of additional debt, liens, restricted payments, sales of assets and affiliate transactions under the Revolving Credit Facility. In addition, under the Revolving Credit Facility, LCFH is required to comply with financial covenants relating to minimum net worth, maximum leverage, minimum liquidity, and minimum fixed charge coverage, consistent with our other credit facilities.

FHLB Financing

We have maintained membership in the FHLB since 2012 through our subsidiary, Tuebor Captive Insurance Company LLC (“Tuebor”). As of December 31, 2020, Tuebor had $288.0 million of borrowings outstanding from the FHLB (with an additional $1.2 billion of committed term financing available), with terms of overnight to 3.75 years, interest rates of 0.41% to 2.74%, and advance rates of 45.0% to 95.7% on eligible collateral, including cash collateral. As of December 31, 2020, collateral for the borrowings was comprised of $280.1 million of CMBS and U.S. Agency Securities, and $108.3 million of first mortgage commercial real estate loans. The weighted-average borrowings outstanding were $578.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. FHLB advances amounted to 6.8% of the Company’s outstanding debt obligations as of December 31, 2020.

Mortgage Loan Financing

We generally finance our real estate using long-term non-recourse mortgage financing. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we executed ten term debt agreements to finance real estate. All of our mortgage loan financings have fixed rates ranging from 3.75% to 6.16%, mature between 2021- 2030 and total $766.1 million at December 31, 2020. These long-term non-recourse mortgages include net unamortized premiums of $4.6 million at December 31, 2020, representing proceeds received upon financing greater than the contractual amounts due under the agreements. The premiums are being amortized over the remaining life of the respective debt instruments using the effective interest method. We recorded $1.2 million of premium amortization, which decreased interest expense, for the year ended December 31, 2020. The loans are collateralized by real estate and related lease intangibles, net, of $909.4 million as of December 31, 2020.

Secured Financing Facility

On April 30, 2020, the Company entered into a strategic financing arrangement (the “Agreement”) with an American multinational corporation (the “Lender”), under which the Lender provided the Company with approximately $206.4 million in senior secured financing (the “Secured Financing Facility”) to fund transitional and land loans. The Secured Financing Facility is secured on a first lien basis on a portfolio of certain of the Company’s loans and will mature on May 6, 2023, and borrowings thereunder bear interest at LIBOR (or a minimum of 0.75% if greater) plus 10.0%, with a minimum interest premium of approximately $39.2 million minus the aggregate sum of all interest payments made under the Secured Financing Facility prior to the date of payment of the minimum interest premium, which is payable upon the earlier of maturity or repayment in full of the loan. The Senior Financing Facility is non-recourse, subject to limited exceptions, and does not contain mark-to-market provisions. Additionally, the Senior Financing Facility provides the Company optionality to modify or restructure loans or forbear in exercising remedies, which maximizes the Company’s financial flexibility.

As part of the strategic financing, the Lender also had the ability to make an equity investment in the Company of up to 4.0 million Class A common shares at $8.00 per share, subject to certain adjustments (the “Purchase Right”). The Purchase Right was exercised in full at $8.00 per share on December 27, 2020.

The Lender has agreed not to sell, transfer, assign, pledge, hypothecate, mortgage, dispose of or in any way encumber the shares acquired as a result of exercising the Purchase Right for a period of time following the exercise date. In connection with the issuance of the Purchase Right, the Company and the Lender entered into a registration rights agreement, pursuant to which the Company has agreed to provide customary demand and piggyback registration rights to the Lender.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $192.6 million of borrowings outstanding under the Secured Financing Facility included in debt obligations on its consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs of $7.2 million were included in secured financing facility as of December 31, 2020.

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Collateralized Loan Obligation (“CLO”) Debt

On April 27, 2020, a consolidated subsidiary of the Company completed a private CLO transaction with a major U.S. bank which generated $310.2 million of gross proceeds to Ladder, financing $481.3 million of loans (“Contributed Loans”) at a 64.5% advance rate on a matched term, non-mark-to-market and non-recourse basis. A consolidated subsidiary of the Company will retained a 35.5% subordinate and controlling interest in the CLO. The Company retained control over major decisions made with respect to the administration of the Contributed Loans, including broad discretion in managing these loans in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has the ability to appoint the special servicer under the CLO. The CLO is a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) and the Company was the primary beneficiary and, therefore, consolidated the VIE - See Note 10, Consolidated Variable Interest Entities. Proceeds from the transaction were used to pay off other secured debt including bank and FHLB financing that was subject to mark-to-market provisions.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $276.5 million of matched term, non-mark-to-market and non-recourse basis CLO debt included in debt obligations on its consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs of $2.6 million were included in CLO debt as of December 31, 2020.

Hedging Strategies

We enter into interest rate and credit spread derivative contracts to mitigate our exposure to changes in interest rates and credit spreads. We generally seek to hedge the interest rate risk on the financing of assets that have a duration longer than five years, including newly-originated conduit first mortgage loans, securities in our CMBS portfolio if long enough in duration, and most of our U.S. Agency Securities portfolio. We monitor our asset profile and our hedge positions to manage our interest rate and credit spread exposures, and we seek to match fund our assets according to the liquidity characteristics and expected holding periods of our assets.

Financing Strategy in Current Market Conditions

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 health crisis rapidly transformed into a financial crisis, management took swift action to increase liquidity resources and actively manage its financing arrangements with its bank partners. In an abundance of caution, the Company first drew down on its $266.4 million unsecured revolving credit facility, which continues to be fully-drawn, and the proceeds continue to be held as unrestricted cash on the Company’s balance sheet as of February 19, 2021.

Securities Repurchase Facilities: The Company invests in AAA-rated CRE CLO securities, typically front pay securities, with relatively short duration and significant subordination. These securities have historically been financed with short-term maturity, repurchase agreements with various bank counterparties. The Company has been able to continue to access securities repurchase funding and the pricing of such borrowings has improved during the three months ended December 31, 2020 as liquidity continued to return to the market and pricing for the securities that serve as collateral improved. Furthermore, during the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company paid down $548.2 million of securities repurchase financing, primarily through sales of securities.

FHLB Financing: In 2016, the FHFA adopted a final rule that limited our captive insurance subsidiary’s membership in the FHLB, requiring us to significantly reduce the amounts of FHLB borrowings outstanding by February of 2021. The Company has complied with such targeted paydowns. Refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources - FHLB financing” for further information.

Total paydowns on FHLB financing for the year ended December 31, 2020 were $785.5 million. As a part of paydowns in the second quarter, the Company incurred $6.5 million in prepayment penalties. The remaining FHLB debt maturities are staggered out through 2024. Funding for future advance paydowns is expected be obtained from the natural amortization of securities over time and/or sales of securities collateral.

Loan Repurchase Financing: The Company has maintained a consistent dialogue with its loan financing counterparties since the COVID-19 crisis began to unfold in late March 2020. In addition to using proceeds from the Company’s 2027 Notes offering in January to reduce secured debt, for the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company paid down over $446.9 million on such loan repurchase financing through loan collateral pay offs and loans securitized through a CLO financing transaction. (refer to below). Loan repurchase debt outstanding as of December 31, 2020 was $255.4 million. The Company continues to maintain an active dialogue with its bank counterparties as it expects loan collateral on each of their lines to experience some measure of forbearance.

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Secured Financing Facility: On April 30, 2020, the Company entered into a strategic financing arrangement with an American multinational corporation, under which the lender will provide the Company with approximately $206.4 million in senior secured financing to fund transitional and land loans. (refer to above).

Completion of Private CLO: On April 27, 2020, the Company completed a private CLO financing transaction with a major U.S. bank which generated $310.2 million of gross proceeds, financing $481.3 million of loans at a 64.5% advance rate on a matched term, non-mark-to-market and non-recourse basis.

Based on the financing actions described above, the Company has significantly decreased its exposure to mark-to-market financing in 2020. As of February 19, 2021, the Company is holding over $1.3 billion of unrestricted cash.

Financial Covenants

We generally seek to maintain a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 3.0:1.0 or below. We expect this ratio to fluctuate during the course of a fiscal year due to the normal course of business in our conduit lending operations, in which we generally securitize our inventory of conduit loans at intervals, and also because of changes in our asset mix, due in part to such securitizations. We generally seek to match fund our assets according to their liquidity characteristics and expected hold period. We believe that the defensive positioning of our predominantly senior secured assets and our financing strategy has allowed us to maintain financial flexibility to capitalize on an attractive range of market opportunities as they have arisen.

We and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional debt in the future. However, we are subject to certain restrictions on our ability to incur additional debt in the indentures governing the Notes (the “Indentures”) and our other debt agreements. Under the Indentures, we may not incur certain types of indebtedness unless our consolidated non-funding debt to equity ratio (as defined in the Indentures) is less than or equal to 1.75 to 1.00 or if the unencumbered assets of the Company and its subsidiaries is less than 120% of their unsecured indebtedness, although our subsidiaries are permitted to incur indebtedness where recourse is limited to the assets and/or the general credit of such subsidiary.

Our borrowings under certain financing agreements and our committed repurchase facilities are subject to maximum consolidated leverage ratio limits (either a fixed ratio ranging from 3.50 to 1.00 to 4.00 to 1.00, or a maximum ratio based on our asset composition at the time of determination), minimum net worth requirements (ranging from $400.0 million to $871.4 million), maximum reductions in net worth over stated time periods, minimum liquidity levels (typically $30.0 million of cash or a higher standard that often allows for the inclusion of different percentages of liquid securities in the determination of compliance with the requirement), and a fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.25x, and, in the instance of one lender, an interest coverage ratio of 1.50x, in each case, if certain liquidity thresholds are not satisfied. These restrictions, which would permit us to incur substantial additional debt, are subject to significant qualifications and exceptions.

Further, certain of our financing arrangements and loans on our real property are secured by the assets of the Company, including pledges of the equity of certain subsidiaries or the assets of certain subsidiaries. From time to time, certain of these financing arrangements and loans may prohibit certain of our subsidiaries from paying dividends to the Company, from making distributions on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s property or other assets to the Company or other subsidiaries of the Company.

We are in compliance with all covenants as described elsewhere in this Annual Report as of December 31, 2020.

Net of the $1.3 billion of unrestricted cash held as of December 31, 2020, our adjusted leverage ratio would be significantly below 3.0x. In late March 2020, as the COVID-19 crisis evolved, management began executing on a plan to mitigate uncertainty in financial markets by increasing liquidity and obtaining additional non-recourse and non-mark-to-market financing. Partly as a result of maintaining conservative cash levels as of March 31, 2020, the Company was not in compliance with its 3.5x maximum leverage covenant with certain of its lenders but had the benefit of a contractually provided 30-day cure period during which the Company cured such non-compliance by paying down debt (as defined in the relevant borrowing agreements). Refer to “Financing Strategy in Current Market Conditions” for further disclosures surrounding deleveraging actions completed during 2020.

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Competition

The commercial real estate finance markets are highly competitive. We face competition for lending and investment opportunities from a variety of institutional lenders and investors and many other market participants, including specialty finance companies, other REITs, commercial banks and thrift institutions, investment banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and other financial institutions. These competitors may enjoy competitive advantages over us, including greater name recognition, established lending relationships with certain borrowers and brokers, financial resources, and access to capital, including through a corporate parent.

We compete on the basis of relationships, product offering, loan structure, terms, pricing and customer service. Our success depends on our ability to maintain and capitalize on relationships with borrowers and brokers, offer attractive loan products, remain competitive in pricing and terms, and provide superior service.

Taxation

We have elected to be subject to tax as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), commencing with the taxable year ending December 31, 2015. Additionally, one of our subsidiary entities has also elected to be subject to tax as a REIT commencing with taxable year ending December 31, 2016. To qualify as a REIT, we must make qualifying distributions to shareholders and satisfy, on a continuing basis, through actual investment and operating results, certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stock ownership and other REIT requirements. If we fail to qualify as a REIT, and do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we will be subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes and may be precluded from qualifying as a REIT for the subsequent four taxable years following the year in which we lost our REIT qualification. The failure to qualify as a REIT could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and amounts available for distribution to shareholders.

We utilize TRSs to reduce the impact of the prohibited transaction tax and to avoid penalty for the holding of assets not qualifying as real estate assets for purposes of the REIT asset tests. Any income associated with a TRS is fully taxable because a TRS is subject to federal and state income taxes as a domestic C corporation based upon its net income. Refer to “Risk factors—Risks related to our taxation as a REIT.”

Regulation

Our operations are subject, in certain instances, to supervision and regulation by U.S. federal and state governmental authorities and may be subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing various requirements and restrictions. In addition, certain of our subsidiaries’ businesses may rely on exemptions from various requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act, and the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). These exemptions are sometimes highly complex and may in certain circumstances depend on compliance by third-parties who we do not control.

Regulation of Commercial Real Estate Lending Activities

Although most states do not regulate commercial finance, certain states impose limitations on interest rates and other charges and on certain collection practices and creditor remedies, and require licensing of lenders and financiers and adequate disclosure of certain contract terms. We also are required to comply with certain provisions of, among other statutes and regulations, certain provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act that are applicable to commercial loans, the USA PATRIOT Act, regulations promulgated by the Office of Foreign Asset Control and U.S. federal and state securities laws and regulations.

Regulation as a Captive Insurance Company

We maintain a captive insurance company, Tuebor, to provide coverage previously self insured by us, including nuclear, biological or chemical coverage, excess property coverage and excess errors and omissions coverage. It is regulated by the state of Michigan and is subject to regulations that cover all aspects of its business. Violations of these regulations can result in revocation of its authorization to do business as a captive insurer or result in censures or fines. The subsidiary is also subject to insurance laws of states other than Michigan (i.e., states where the insureds are located). See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and capital resources.”

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Investment Company Act Exemption

We intend to conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

If we or any of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) fail to qualify for, and maintain an exemption from, registration under the Investment Company Act, or an exclusion from the definition of an investment company, we could, among other things, be required either to (a) substantially change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (b) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so, or (c) register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, any of which could have an adverse effect on us, our financial results, the sustainability of our business model or the value of our securities.

If we or any of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) were required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, the registered entity would become subject to substantial regulation with respect to capital structure (including the ability to use leverage), management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act), portfolio composition, including restrictions with respect to diversification and industry concentration, compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations that would significantly change its operation and we would not be able to conduct our business as described in this Annual Report. For example, because affiliate transactions are generally prohibited under the Investment Company Act, we would not be able to enter into certain transactions with any of our affiliates if we are required to register as an investment company, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business.

If we were required to register as an investment company but failed to do so, we would be prohibited from engaging in our business, and criminal and civil actions could be brought against us. In addition, our contracts would be unenforceable unless a court required enforcement, and a court could appoint a receiver to take control of us and liquidate our business.

Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer which is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities, and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company for certain privately-offered investment vehicles set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.

We are organized as a holding company and conduct our businesses primarily through our majority-owned subsidiaries (including any series thereof). We intend to conduct our operations so that we do not come within the definition of an investment company under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act because less than 40% of the value of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis will consist of “investment securities.” We will monitor our holdings to ensure continuing and ongoing compliance with this test. In addition, we believe that we will not be considered an investment company under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act because we will not engage primarily, hold ourselves out as being engaged primarily, or propose to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Rather, we will be engaged primarily in the business of holding securities of our majority-owned subsidiaries (including any series thereof).

We expect that certain of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) may rely on the exclusion from the definition of an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act pursuant to Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, which is available for entities “primarily engaged” in the business of “purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate.” This exclusion, as interpreted by the staff of the SEC, requires that an entity invest at least 55% of its assets in “qualifying real estate assets” and at least 80% of its assets in qualifying real estate assets and “real estate-related assets.”

Although we reserve the right to modify our business methods at any time, as of December 31, 2020, we expect each of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) relying on Section 3(c)(5)(C) to primarily hold assets in one or more of the following categories, which are comprised primarily of “qualifying real estate assets”: commercial mortgage loans, investments in securities secured by first mortgage loans, and investments in selected net leased and other real estate assets. We expect each of our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) relying on Section 3(c)(5)(C) to rely on guidance published by the SEC or its staff or on our analyses of such guidance to determine which assets are qualifying real estate assets and real estate-related

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assets. To the extent that the SEC or its staff publishes new or different guidance with respect to these matters, we may be required to adjust our strategies accordingly. In addition, we may be limited in our ability to make certain investments and these limitations could result in a subsidiary holding assets we might wish to sell or selling assets we might wish to hold.

Any of the Company or our subsidiaries (including any series thereof) may rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(6) of the Investment Company Act to the extent that they primarily engage, directly or through majority-owned subsidiaries (including any series thereof), in the businesses described in Sections 3(c)(3), 3(c)(4) and 3(c)(5) of the Investment Company Act. The SEC staff has issued little interpretive guidance with respect to Section 3(c)(6) and any guidance published by the staff could require us to adjust our strategies accordingly.

In 2011, the SEC solicited public comment on a wide range of issues relating to Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, including the nature of the assets that qualify for purposes of the exemption and whether companies that are engaged in the business of acquiring mortgages and mortgage-related instruments should be regulated in a manner similar to investment companies. There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing the Investment Company Act status of such companies, including the SEC or its staff providing more specific or different guidance regarding Section 3(c)(5)(C), will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations.

Qualification for exclusion from the definition of an investment company under the Investment Company Act may limit our ability to make certain investments. In addition, complying with the tests for such exclusion may restrict the time at which we can acquire and sell assets. To the extent that the SEC or its staff provides more specific guidance regarding any of the matters bearing upon such exclusions, we may be required to adjust our strategies accordingly. Any additional guidance from the SEC or its staff could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could further inhibit our ability to pursue the strategies we have chosen. See “Risk factors—Risks related to our Investment Company Act exemption—Maintenance of our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act imposes significant limits on our operations.”

Employees

As of December 31, 2020, we employed 58 full-time persons. All employees are employed by our operating subsidiary, Ladder Capital Finance LLC. None of our employees are represented by a union or subject to a collective bargaining agreement and we have never experienced a work stoppage. We believe that our employee relations are good.

Human Capital Management and Corporate Culture

The board maintains oversight of human capital management and corporate culture and gains insight at regular Board and committee meetings about specific Company human resources initiatives, including talent engagement, attraction and retention.

Ladder is a dynamic company that is distinguished by the talent and dedication of our team. The Company is committed to building and developing a diverse, interconnected and engaged workforce, as further described below. Ladder continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on all of its constituents. For the safety of our employees, Ladder was proactive in its efforts to create and maintain a seamless transition from office to home. Currently the majority of our employees remain working remotely. The continued engagement and dedication of our employees in light of these difficult circumstances are greatly appreciated, and we believe it is due in part to our strong corporate culture.

The Company is committed to maintaining a productive work environment in which all individuals are treated with mutual respect and dignity. All levels of personnel are expected to contribute to a professional atmosphere that promotes equal opportunity and nondiscriminatory practices. In keeping with this commitment, the Company has reviewed, and actively reviews, its anti-discrimination, harassment, and retaliation policy. Further, in addition to annual diversity and inclusion training for all employees, the Company maintains an open-door policy that is aligned with its dedication to integrity and transparency.

The Company invests in our employees and demonstrates this through competitive salaries, annual incentive awards, stock awards, healthcare benefits, paid time off, and a business continuity plan that places our employees’ health and safety at its core.

Ladder has also implemented various programs to develop and build field expertise and leadership skills, including its Company-wide, interdepartmental mentoring program, “Ladder Climbers” program and annual employee reviews. Ladder’s mentoring program pairs junior employees with senior employees in other departments to foster cross-departmental connections and to allow junior employees to expand their knowledge beyond their respective departments. Human Resources actively monitors the program and encourages feedback from both mentees and mentors to ensure that it is a valuable experience for all participants. Unique to the Company is our “Ladder Climbers” program, which is managed by the junior employees themselves and enables our junior staff to bond and develop leadership skills. In addition, our corporate culture encourages

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contemporaneous feedback to enable employees to refine their skills and expertise with each project and annual employee reviews also provide a road-map for continued development.

Our Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 345 Park Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10154, and our telephone number is (212) 715-3170. We maintain a website on the Internet at http://www.laddercapital.com. The information contained in our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report. We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with, or furnish to the SEC, in accordance with the Exchange Act. These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may adversely impact our business. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flows and liquidity could be materially adversely affected. The market price of our Class A common stock could decline if one or more of these risks or uncertainties actually occur, causing you to lose all or part of your investment in our Class A common stock. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Summary of Principal Risk Factors

Our business is subject to change, risks, and uncertainties, as described herein. The risks factors that the Company considers material include, but are not limited to, the following:

Risks Related to COVID-19

•The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had, and will continue to have for the foreseeable future, an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and we are unable to predict the full extent or nature of these impacts at this time.

Risks Related to Our Operations

•The success of our business depends upon the retention of qualified loan originators, the allocation of capital among our business lines, and maintaining strategic business alliances.

•We operate according to specific underwriting criteria in a highly competitive market for lending and investment opportunities, both of which may limit our ability to originate or acquire desirable loans and investments in our target assets and/or our ability to yield a certain return on our investments.

Market Risks Related to Our Investments

•We have a concentration of investments in the real estate sector, which may increase our exposure to the risks of certain economic downturns, and whose value may be affected by many factors beyond our control, including prevailing interest rates, prepayment rates on mortgage loans, increased competition, shifts in consumer patterns and advances in communication and information technology, civil unrest, acts of war and terrorism and outbreaks of communicable diseases, including COVID-19.

Risks Related to Our Portfolio

•The repayment of mortgage loans may be limited by the application of federal, state and local law, including bankruptcy provisions and COVID-19 restrictions, the non-recourse and potentially illiquid nature of mortgage loans, our ability to evaluate the credit-worthiness of borrowers and to diligence the underlying property, including environmental issues and the property’s ability to generate sufficient cash flow, the sufficiency of appropriate reserves, subordination, the lack of full control due to a participation or co-lender arrangement, and proper insurance coverage.

•Provisions for loan losses are difficult to estimate. If we are required to materially increase our level of allowance for loan losses for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

•We value certain investments quarterly at fair value, a subjective measure. Our results of operations for a given period could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal.

•Our participation in the market for mortgage loan securitizations may expose us to risks that could result in losses to us and the timing of our securitization activities and other factors may greatly affect our quarterly financial results.

•The market value of our investments in CMBS and CLOs may fluctuate as a result of various market risks that are out of our control and we may sponsor or purchase junior tranches of CMBS or CLO securitizations or of a mortgage loan, which would experience the first loss in the event of a borrower default.

•Any investments in real-estate related equity or debt securities, including but not limited to those issued by REITs and real estate companies, are subject to the specific risks relating to the particular companies and to the general risks of investing in real estate-related securities.

•Any credit ratings assigned to our investments could be downgraded and we could incur losses from investments in non-conforming and non-investment grade-rated loans or securities, which could have a material impact on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

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•The expense of operating and owning real property, including net leased real estate investments, may impact our cash flow from operations and our investments in net leased properties and in joint ventures could be adversely affected by our reliance on the net leased tenants and our joint venture partners, respectively.

Risks Related to Our Liquidity and Indebtedness

•There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or utilize financing arrangements in the future on favorable terms, or at all, and such financing agreements provide lenders with greater rights in the event of a lender or borrower bankruptcy, the ability to foreclose upon collateral in an event of default and cross-default provisions to other financing agreements.

•Our use of leverage may create a mismatch between the duration of financing and the life of the investments made using the proceeds of such financing.

•Our unsecured corporate bonds contain restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to expand or fully pursue our business strategies and the unsecured corporate bonds are subordinate to all of our secured indebtedness, which may affect our ability to repay the bonds.

•We cannot predict the effects of changes to, or the transition away from, LIBOR on Ladder’s assets and liabilities.

Risks Related to Regulatory and Compliance Matters

•Our subsidiary that operates as a captive insurance company is subject to insurance laws and its outstanding borrowings are subject to the lending policies of the FHLB.

•Maintenance of our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act imposes significant limits on our operations. The value of our securities, including our Class A common stock, may be adversely affected if we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

•Certain of our entities may make loans to other of our entities on other-than-arms’-length terms.

•Certain of our officers and directors may be involved in other businesses related to the commercial real estate industry and potential conflicts of interests may arise if we invest in commercial real estate instruments or properties affiliated with such businesses.

Risks Related to Hedging

•We may enter into hedging transactions that could expose us to contingent liabilities in the future, adversely impact our financial condition, be subject to mandatory clearing and/or margin requirements and not have a liquid secondary market.

Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock

•Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change in control.

•Our charter contains REIT-related restrictions on the ownership of, and ability to transfer our Class A common stock.

•The market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock may be volatile and current stockholders may be diluted by future equity issuances.

Risks Related to Our Taxation as a REIT

•If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will be subject to tax as a regular corporation and could face a substantial tax liability, which would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders.

•Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forgo otherwise attractive opportunities or liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

•REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and we cannot assure you of our ability to pay distributions in the future.

•Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow.

The risks described above should be read together with the text of the full risk factors below, in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1.A. and the other information set forth in this Annual Report, including the consolidated financial statements and the related notes, as well as in other documents that are filed with the SEC. The risks summarized above or described in full below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not precisely known to us, or that are currently determined to be immaterial, may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects.

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Risks Related to COVID-19

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had, and will continue to have for the foreseeable future, an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and we are unable to predict the full extent or nature of these impacts at this time.

As of the date hereof, there is an ongoing outbreak of a novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, which has spread to over 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., and to every state in the U.S. The World Health Organization has designated COVID-19 as a pandemic, and numerous countries, including the U.S., have declared national emergencies with respect to COVID-19. Public health officials have recommended and mandated precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including the closing of non-essential businesses, prohibitions on congregating in heavily populated areas and shelter-in-place orders or similar measures. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, governments, businesses and other third parties will likely continue to implement or maintain restrictions or policies that adversely impact consumer spending, global capital markets, the global economy and stock prices.

The continued spread of COVID-19 globally has had, and is likely to continue to have for the foreseeable future, a material adverse effect on the global and U.S. economies as a whole, as well as on the states and cities where we own properties or have properties as collateral. A prolonged economic downturn could adversely and materially affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting almost every industry, whether directly or indirectly. Businesses have been, continue to be or may periodically be, required by the local, state or federal authorities to cease or reduce operations, thereby preventing them from generating revenue. The extent of the effects will depend, in part, upon the breadth and duration of these economic shutdowns. The effects on commercial real estate have varied by sector and market. Some properties securing our loans to borrowers or owned by us, including hotels and certain retail properties, have experienced, or are likely to experience, material disruptions to their businesses from the end consumer and underlying property tenants. These disruptions could lead to or continue to cause a material decline in operating cash flows from these assets, and could impact our borrowers’ ability to pay debt service or property expenses or repay our loans to them at maturity or affect our ability to service our own borrowings secured by these loans or properties. Further, long-term structural changes may affect the value of certain businesses and properties. For example, restaurants have been required to reduce capacity and other businesses have moved to, and may continue, remote work arrangements, which may reduce the demand for certain types of office space. Without the requirement to be close to the office, many cities have experienced a flight to local suburbs that has led to reduced multifamily rental occupancy.

In addition, it is possible that there could be a return of volatility to the credit markets, which may impact our ability to access capital on favorable terms, or at all. Our ability to execute on one or more of our business models, such as the origination of loans for securitization, may be adversely affected by the underlying economic and credit market disruptions. In addition, the prolonged effects of the pandemic on credit markets, tenants and borrowers negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, the prices of securities that we hold, which resulted in, and may in the future result in, margin calls under our repurchase agreements. To the extent we are not able to satisfy such margin calls, it would result in a default under such repurchase agreements and could result in a default under our other debt instruments, including our senior secured credit agreement or the indentures governing our notes.

The COVID-19 crisis continues to create uncertainty regarding the valuation of commercial properties. Ongoing uncertainty or a significant drop in prices may affect the ability of our borrowers to refinance loans we have extended to them and/or may impact the value of real estate we own. In addition, if loans we have extended become impaired, we may be required to establish reserves against losses, which can impact our earnings and/or our liquidity. Further, lenders and landlords face challenges in enforcing contracts and instituting proceedings such as foreclosures and evictions as a result of moratoriums or restrictions imposed by federal, state or local laws and as a result of backlogs in, or closures of, courts as a result of COVID-19.

The ultimate extent of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business, global markets and overall economic activity still remain unknown and impossible to predict with certainty at this time.

Risks Related to Our Operations

We may not be able to hire and retain qualified loan originators or grow and maintain our relationships with key loan brokers, and if we are unable to do so, our ability to implement our business and growth strategies could be limited.

We depend on our loan originators to generate borrower clients by, among other things, developing relationships with commercial property owners, real estate agents and brokers, developers and others, which we believe leads to repeat and referral business. Accordingly, we must be able to attract, motivate and retain skilled loan originators. The market for loan

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originators is highly competitive and may lead to increased costs to hire and retain them. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to attract or retain qualified loan originators. If we cannot attract, motivate or retain a sufficient number of skilled loan originators, at a reasonable cost or at all, our business could be materially and adversely affected. We also depend on our network of loan brokers, who generate a significant portion of our loan originations. While we strive to cultivate long-standing relationships that generate repeat business for us, brokers are free to transact business with other lenders and have done so in the past and will do so in the future. Our competitors also have relationships with some of our brokers and actively compete with us in bidding on loans shopped by these brokers. We also cannot guarantee that we will be able to maintain or develop new relationships with additional brokers.

The allocation of capital among our business lines may vary, which may adversely affect our financial performance.

In executing our business plan, we regularly consider the allocation of capital to our various commercial real estate business lines, including commercial mortgage lending, investments in securities secured by first mortgage loans, and investments in selected net leased and diversified commercial real estate properties. The allocation of capital among such business lines may vary due to market conditions, the expected relative return on equity of each activity, the judgment of our management team, the demand in the marketplace for commercial real estate loans and securities and the availability of specific investment opportunities. We also consider the availability and cost of our likely sources of capital. If we fail to appropriately allocate capital and resources across our business lines or fail to optimize our investment and capital raising opportunities, our financial performance may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to maintain our strategic business alliances.

We often rely on other third-party companies for assistance in origination, warehousing, distribution, servicing, securitization and other finance-related and loan-related activities. There can be no assurance that any of these strategic partners will continue their relationships with us in the future. Our ability to influence our partners may be limited and non-alignment of interests on various strategic decisions may adversely impact our business. Furthermore, strategic alliance partners may: (i) have economic or business interests or goals that are inconsistent with ours; (ii) take actions contrary to our policies or objectives; (iii) undergo a change of control; (iv) experience financial and other difficulties; or (v) be unable or unwilling to fulfill their obligations, which may affect our financial conditions or results of operations.

We operate according to specific underwriting criteria in a highly competitive market for lending and investment opportunities, both of which may limit our ability to originate or acquire desirable loans and investments in our target assets and/or our ability to yield a certain return on our investments.

Our management team uses financial models and underwriting criteria, the effectiveness of which cannot be guaranteed. We operate in a highly competitive market for lending and investment opportunities. A number of entities compete with us to make the types of loans and investments that we seek to make. Our profitability depends, in large part, on our ability to originate or acquire target assets at attractive prices. In originating or acquiring target assets, we compete with a variety of institutional lenders and investors and many other market participants, including specialty finance companies, REITs, commercial banks and thrift institutions, investment banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and other financial institutions. Many competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that may not be available to us. Under our credit facilities, the lenders have the right to review the assets which we are seeking to finance and approve the purchase and financing of such assets in their sole discretion. Our underwriting criteria and lender approvals may restrict us from being able to compete with others for commercial mortgage loan origination and acquisition opportunities and these criteria may be stricter than those employed by our competitors. In addition, these underwriting criteria and approvals impose conditions and limitations on our ability to originate certain of our target assets, including, in particular, restrictions on our ability to originate junior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments.

Unlike Ladder, many of our competitors are not subject to the maintenance of an exemption from the Investment Company Act. Furthermore, competition for originations of, and investments in, our target assets may lead to the yield of such assets decreasing, which may further limit our ability to generate desired returns. Also, as a result of this competition, desirable loans and investments in specific types of target assets may be limited in the future and we may not be able to take advantage of attractive lending and investment opportunities from time to time. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and originate loans or make any or all of the types of investments that are described in this Annual Report.

Market Risks Related to Our Investments

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We have a concentration of investments in the real estate sector and may have concentrations from time to time in certain property types, locations, tenants and borrowers, which may increase our exposure to the risks of certain economic downturns.

We and our borrowers operate in the commercial real estate sector. Such concentration in one economic sector may increase the volatility of our returns and may also expose us to the risk of economic downturns in this sector to a greater extent than if our portfolio also included other sectors of the economy. Declining real estate values may reduce the level of new mortgage and other real estate-related loan originations since borrowers often use appreciation in the value of their existing properties to support the purchase of or investment in additional properties. Borrowers may also be less able to pay principal and interest on our loans if the value of real estate weakens and/or the interest rates at which loans can be profitably made increases. Further, declining real estate values significantly increase the likelihood that we will incur losses on our loans in the event of default because the value of our collateral may be insufficient to cover our cost on the loan. Any sustained period of increased payment delinquencies, forbearance, foreclosures or losses could adversely affect both our net interest income from loans in our portfolio as well as our ability to originate/acquire/sell loans, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and business.

In addition, we are not required to observe specific diversification criteria relating to property types, locations, tenants or borrowers. A limited degree of diversification increases risk because the aggregate return of our business may be adversely affected by the unfavorable performance of a single property type, single tenant, single market or even a single investment. To the extent that our portfolio is concentrated in any one region or type of asset, downturns relating generally to such region or type of asset may result in defaults on a number of our assets within a short time period. Additionally, borrower concentration, in which a particular borrower is, or a group of related borrowers are, associated with multiple real properties securing mortgage loans or securities held by us, magnifies the risks presented by the possible poor performance of such borrower(s). Moreover, borrowers may be concentrated in individual asset classes that could impact their liquidity.

The value of our investments may be adversely affected by many factors that are beyond our control.

Income from, and the value of, our investments may be adversely affected by many factors that are beyond our control, including:

•volatility and adverse changes in international, national and local economic and market conditions, including contractions in market liquidity for mortgage loans and mortgage-related assets and tenant bankruptcies;

•changes in interest rates, credit spreads, prepayment rates and in the availability, costs and terms of financing;

•changes in rates of default or recovery rates;

•changes in generally accepted accounting principles;

•changes in governmental laws and regulations, fiscal policies and zoning and other ordinances and costs of compliance with laws and regulations;

•the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”) and/or estimates concerning the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are subject to change based on further analysis and/or IRS guidance;

•downturns in the markets for mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed and structured products, and commercial real estate; and

•civil unrest, terrorism, acts of war, outbreaks of communicable diseases (including COVID-19), nuclear or radiological disasters and natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, floods, and other extreme weather and permanent climate changes, which may result in uninsured and underinsured losses.

Shifts in consumer patterns and advances in communication and information technology that affect the use of traditional retail, hotel and office space may have an adverse impact on the value of our debt and equity investments.

In recent periods, and accelerated by the restrictions and lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, sales by online retailers such as Amazon have increased, and many retailers operating brick and mortar stores have made online sales a vital piece of their businesses. Some of our debt and equity investments involve exposure to the ongoing operations of brick and mortar retailers. Although many of the retailers operating in the properties underlying our debt and/or equity investments include pharmacies and/or sell groceries and other necessity-based soft goods or provide services, including entertainment and dining options, the shift to online shopping may cause declines in brick and mortar sales generated by certain of tenants at these properties and/or may cause certain of our tenants to reduce the size or number of their retail locations in the future.

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Technology has also impacted the use of office space and the adaption of such technology has also been accelerated by the restrictions and lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The office market has seen a shift in the use of space due to the availability of practices such as telecommuting, videoconferencing and, prior to the pandemic, renting shared work spaces through platforms such as WeWork. These trends have led to more efficient workspace layouts and a decrease in square feet leased per employee. While the social distancing required as a result of COVID-19 may lead some tenants to require more space, at least in the short term, the continuing impact of technology could result in tenant downsizings upon renewal, or in tenants seeking office space outside of the typical central business district (“CBD”). These trends could continue to cause an increase in vacancy rates and a decrease in demand for new supply, and could impact the value of our debt and equity investments.

Technology platforms such as AirBnB and VRBO have provided leisure and business travelers with lodging options outside of the hotel industry. These services effectively have increased the supply of rooms available in many major markets. This additional supply could impact the occupancy rates and ADRs at more traditional hotels.

As a result of the foregoing, the value of our debt and equity investments, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our earnings may decrease because of changes in prevailing interest rates or associated borrowing costs.

Our primary interest rate exposures relate to the yield on our assets and the financing cost of our debt, as well as the interest rate swaps that we utilize for hedging purposes. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors beyond our control, including but not limited to, governmental monetary and tax policies, and domestic and international economic and political considerations. Interest rate fluctuations present a variety of risks, including the risk of a mismatch between asset yields and borrowing rates, variances in the yield curve and fluctuating prepayment rates, and such fluctuations may adversely affect our income and may generate losses.

Demand for mortgages could be negatively impacted by rising interest rates and increases in the level of interest rates may (x) increase the credit risk of our assets by negatively impacting the ability of our borrowers to pay debt service on our floating rate loan assets or our ability to refinance our assets upon maturity and (y) negatively impact the value of the real estate supporting our investments (or that we own directly) through the impact such increases can have on property valuation capitalization rates. Continuing low interest rates could increase the vulnerability of the financial sector by lowering profits of financial intermediaries and potentially encouraging riskier investments and excess debt as these firms reach for yield.

For the risks regarding the transition away from LIBOR on our assets and liabilities, refer to “Risks Related to Our Indebtedness—We cannot predict the effect of changes to, or the transition away from, LIBOR on Ladder’s assets and liabilities,” below.

Prepayment rates on mortgage loans cannot be predicted with certainty and prepayments may result in losses to the value of our assets.

The frequency at which prepayments (including voluntary prepayments by the borrowers and liquidations due to defaults and foreclosures) occur on our investments can adversely impact our business, and prepayment rates cannot be predicted with certainty, making it impossible to completely insulate us from prepayment or other such risks. Any adverse effects of prepayments may impact our portfolio in that particular investments, which may experience outright losses in an environment of faster actual or anticipated prepayments or may underperform relative to hedges that the management team may have constructed for such investments (resulting in a loss to our overall portfolio). Additionally, borrowers are more likely to prepay when the prevailing level of interest rates falls, thereby exposing us to the risk that the prepayment proceeds may be reinvested only at a lower interest rate than that borne by the prepaid obligation.

We are exposed to the risk of increased prepayments or defaults by any mortgage or security that we own at a premium. Any principal paydown diminishes the amount outstanding in these securities and reduces the yield to us. Before purchasing a security, we judge the likelihood of prepayment based on certain prepayment and default parameters and our own experience. Different estimates, judgments and assumptions reasonably could be used that would have a material effect on our judgment and, accordingly, result in losses to our business.

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Risks Related to Our Portfolio

The vast majority of the mortgage loans that we originate or purchase, and those underlying the CMBS in which we invest, are non-recourse loans and the assets securing the loans may not be sufficient to protect us from a partial or complete loss if the borrower defaults on the loan.

Except for customary non-recourse carve-outs for certain actions and environmental liability, most commercial mortgage loans, including those underlying the CMBS in which we invest, are effectively non-recourse obligations of the sponsor and borrower, meaning that there is no recourse against the assets of the borrower or sponsor other than the underlying collateral. In the event of any default under a mortgage loan held directly by us, we will bear a risk of loss to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral and the principal and accrued interest of the mortgage loan, which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow from operations. Even if a mortgage loan is recourse to the borrower (or if a non-recourse carve-out to the borrower applies), in many cases, the borrower’s assets are limited primarily to its interest in the related mortgaged property. Further, although a mortgage loan may provide for limited recourse to a principal or affiliate of the related borrower, there is no assurance of any recovery from such principal or affiliate will be made or that such principal’s or affiliate’s assets would be sufficient to pay any otherwise recoverable claim. In the event of the bankruptcy of a borrower, the loan to such borrower is deemed to be secured only to the extent of the value of the underlying collateral at the time of bankruptcy (as determined by the bankruptcy court), and the lien securing the loan will be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession to the extent the lien is unenforceable under state law.

The commercial mortgages and other commercial real estate-related loans, the commercial mortgage loans underlying the CMBS in which we may invest, and the real estate that we own are subject to the ability of the commercial property to generate net income (and not the independent income or assets of the borrower in the case of mortgage loans). The volatility of real property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

The commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate-related loans, the commercial mortgage loans underlying the securities in which we may invest, and the real estate that we own are subject to the ability of the commercial property to generate net income (and not the independent income or assets of the borrower in the case of mortgage loans). Any reductions in net operating income (“NOI”) increase the risks of delinquency, foreclosure and default, which could result in losses to us. NOI of an income-producing property can be affected by many factors, including, but not limited to:

•the ongoing need for capital improvements, particularly in older structures;

•changes in operating expenses;

•changes in general or local market conditions;

•changes in tenant mix and performance, the occupancy or rental rates of the property or, for a property that requires new leasing activity, a failure to lease the property in accordance with the projected leasing schedule;

•competition from comparable property types or properties;

•unskilled or inexperienced property management;

•limited availability of mortgage funds or fluctuations in interest rates which may render the sale and refinancing of a property difficult;

•development projects that experience cost overruns or otherwise fail to perform as projected including, without limitation, failure to complete planned renovations, repairs, or construction;

•unanticipated increases in real estate taxes and other operating expenses;

•challenges to the borrower’s claim of title to the real property;

•environmental considerations, including liability for testing, monitoring and remediation;

•changes in zoning laws, rent control laws and other similar legal restrictions on property ownership and operation;

•other governmental rules and policies, including shut down orders related to COVID-19;

•community health issues, including, without limitation, epidemics and pandemics;

•unanticipated structural defects or costliness of maintaining the property;

•uninsured losses, such as possible acts of terrorism, social unrest or civil disturbances;

•a decline in the operational performance of a facility on the real property (such facilities may include multifamily rental facilities, office properties, retail facilities, hospitality facilities, healthcare-related facilities, industrial facilities, warehouse facilities, restaurants, mobile home facilities, recreational or resort facilities, arenas or stadiums, religious facilities, parking lot facilities or other facilities); and

•large-scale fire, earthquake or severe weather-related damage to the property and/or its operations.

Additional risks may be presented by the type and use of a particular commercial property, including specialized use as a nursing home or hospitality property.

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In instances where the borrower is acting as a landlord on the underlying property, as we do for our selected net leased and other commercial real estate assets, the ability of such borrower to satisfy the debt obligation we hold will depend on the performance and financial health of the underlying tenants, which may be difficult for us to assess or predict. In addition, as the number of tenants with respect to a commercial property decreases or as tenant spaces on a property must be relet, the nonperformance risk of the loan related to such commercial property may increase. Any one or more of the preceding factors could materially impair our ability to recover principal in a foreclosure on the related loan as lender and repay the principal as borrower. A substantial portion of our portfolio may be committed to the origination or purchasing of commercial loans to small and medium-sized, privately owned businesses. Compared to larger, publicly owned firms, such companies generally have limited access to capital and higher funding costs, may be in a weaker financial position and may need more capital to expand or compete. The above financial challenges may make it difficult for such borrowers to make scheduled payments of interest or principal on their loans. Accordingly, advances made to such types of borrowers entail higher risks than advances made to companies who are able to access traditional credit sources.

A portion of our portfolio also may be committed to the origination or purchasing of commercial loans where the borrower is a business with a history of poor operating performance, based on our belief that we can realize value from a loan on the property despite such borrower’s performance history. However, if such borrower were to continue to perform poorly after the origination or purchase of such loan, including due to the above financial challenges, we could be adversely affected.

Our access to the CMBS securitization market and the timing of our securitization activities and other factors may greatly affect our quarterly financial results.

We expect to distribute certain of the first mortgage loans that we originate through securitizations and, in many circumstances, upon completion of a securitization, we will recognize certain non-interest revenues which will be included in total other income (loss) on our consolidated statements of income and cease to earn net interest income on the securitized loans. Our quarterly revenue, operating results and profitability have varied substantially from quarter to quarter based on the frequency, pricing, volume and timing of our securitizations. Our securitization activities will be affected by a number of factors, including our loan origination volumes, changes in loan values, quality and performance during the period such loans are on our books and conditions in the securitization and credit markets generally and at the time we seek to launch and complete our securitizations. Although due to changes resulting from the risk retention rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act described elsewhere in this Annual Report, Ladder may potentially be required to defer income over the life of the securitization, thereby reducing such volatility in earnings, as a result of these quarterly variations, quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results may not provide an accurate comparison of our current period results of operations. If securities analysts or investors focus on such comparative quarter-to-quarter performance, our stock price performance may be more volatile than if such persons compared a wider period of results of operations.

Certain balance sheet loans may be more illiquid and involve a greater risk of loss than long-term mortgage loans.

We originate and acquire balance sheet loans that provide interim financing to borrowers seeking short-term capital for the acquisition or transition (for example, lease up and/or rehabilitation) of commercial real estate. Such a borrower under an interim loan often has identified a transitional asset that has been under-managed, is located in a recovering market and/or requires rehabilitation or capital improvements in order to improve the value of the asset. If the market in which the asset is located fails to recover according to the borrower’s projections, or if the borrower fails to improve the quality of the asset’s management and/or the value of the asset or fails to execute its business plan, the borrower may not receive a sufficient return on the asset to satisfy the interim loan, and we bear the risk that we may not recover some or all of our initial expenditure. In addition, borrowers often use the proceeds of a long-term mortgage loan to repay an interim loan. We may, therefore, be dependent on a borrower’s ability to obtain permanent financing to repay our interim loan, which could depend on the borrower’s ability to execute its business plan, market conditions and other factors.

Further, interim loans may be relatively less liquid than loans against stabilized properties due to their short life, their potential unsuitability for securitization, any unstabilized nature of the underlying real estate and the difficulty of recovery in the event of a borrower’s default. This lack of liquidity may significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our interim loan portfolio and may adversely affect the value of the portfolio.

Such “liquidity risk” may be difficult or impossible to hedge against and may also make it difficult to effect a sale of such assets as we may need or desire. As a result, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our interim loan portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which such investments were previously recorded, which may fail to maximize the value of the investments or result in a loss.

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Our ability to collect upon mortgage loans may be limited by the application of state laws or as a result of moratoriums or restrictions imposed by federal, state or local laws or as a result of backlogs in, or closures of, courts due to COVID-19.

Each of our mortgage loans permits us to accelerate the debt upon default by the borrower. The courts of all states will enforce acceleration clauses in the event of a material payment default, subject in some cases to a right of the court to revoke such acceleration and reinstate the mortgage loan if a payment default is cured. The equity courts of any state, however, may refuse to allow the foreclosure of a mortgage, deed of trust, or other security instrument or to permit the acceleration of the indebtedness if the exercise of those remedies would be inequitable or unjust or if the circumstances would render the acceleration unconscionable. Thus, a court may refuse to permit foreclosure or acceleration if a default is deemed immaterial or the exercise of those remedies would be unjust or unconscionable or if a material default is cured. In addition, lenders and landlords face challenges in enforcing contracts and instituting proceedings such as foreclosures and evictions as a result of moratoriums or restrictions imposed by federal, state or local laws and as a result of backlogs in, or closures of, courts due to COVID-19. Further, our ability to collect the debt may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or other debtor relief laws, as described below.

The ability to collect upon mortgage loans may be limited by the application of U.S. federal and state laws. Several states (including California) have laws that prohibit more than one “judicial action” to enforce a mortgage obligation. Some courts have construed the term “judicial action” broadly. Jurisdictions with “one action,” “security first” and/or “antideficiency rules” may limit our ability or the ability of a special servicer of a CMBS issuance to foreclose on a real property or to realize on obligations secured by a real property. Further, payments on one or more of our loans, particularly a loan to a borrower in which we also hold equity interests, may be subject to claims of equitable subordination that would place our entitlement to repayment of the loan on an equal basis with holders of the borrower’s common equity only after all of the borrower’s obligations relating to its other debt and preferred securities has been satisfied.

The borrowers under the loans underlying our investments may be unable to repay their remaining principal balances on their stated maturity dates, which could negatively impact our business results.

Our mortgage loans may be non-amortizing or partially amortizing balloon loans that provide for substantial payments of principal due at their stated maturities. Balloon loans involve a greater risk to the lender than amortizing loans because a borrower’s ability to repay a balloon mortgage loan on its stated maturity date typically will depend upon its ability either to refinance the mortgage loan (although some loans such as those on condominium projects, may be at least partially self- liquidating) or to sell the mortgaged property at a price sufficient to permit repayment. A borrower’s ability to effect a refinancing or sale will be affected by a number of factors. We are not obligated to refinance any of these mortgage loans.

We may be required to make determinations of a borrower’s creditworthiness based on incomplete information or information that we cannot verify, which may cause us to purchase or originate loans that we otherwise would not have purchased or originated and, as a result, may negatively impact our business or reputation.

The commercial real estate lending business depends on the creditworthiness of borrowers and, to some extent, the sponsors thereof, which we must judge. In making such judgment, we will depend on information obtained from non-public sources and the borrowers in making many decisions related to our portfolio, and such information may be difficult to obtain or may be inaccurate. As a result, we may be required to make decisions based on incomplete information or information that is impossible or impracticable to verify. A determination as to the creditworthiness of a prospective borrower is based on a wide-range of information. Even if we are provided with full and accurate disclosure of all material information concerning a borrower, we may misinterpret or incorrectly analyze this information, which may cause us to purchase or originate loans that we otherwise would not have purchased or originated and, as a result, may negatively impact our business or the borrower could still defraud us after origination leading to a loss and negative publicity.

Third-party diligence reports on mortgaged properties and the properties we own are made as of a point in time and are therefore limited in scope.

Appraisals and engineering and environmental reports, as well as a variety of other third-party reports, are generally obtained with respect to each of the properties we acquire and the mortgaged properties underlying our investments at or about the time of origination. Appraisals are not guarantees of present or future value. One appraiser may reach a different conclusion than the conclusion that would be reached if a different appraiser were appraising that property. Moreover, the values of the properties may have fluctuated significantly since the appraisals were performed. In addition, any third-party report, including any engineering report, environmental report, site inspection or appraisal represents only the analysis of the individual consultant, engineer or inspector preparing such report at the time of such report, and may not reveal all necessary or desirable repairs, maintenance, remediation and capital improvement items.

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The owners of, borrowers on, and tenants occupying, the properties which secure our investments may seek the protection afforded by bankruptcy, insolvency and other debtor relief laws, which may create potential for risk of loss to us.

Although commercial real estate lenders typically seek to reduce the risk of borrower bankruptcy through such items as non-recourse carveouts for bankruptcy and special purpose entity/separateness covenants and/or non-consolidation opinions for borrowing entities, the owners of, borrowers on, and tenants occupying, the properties which secure our investments may still seek the protection afforded by bankruptcy, insolvency and other debtor relief laws. One of the protections offered in such proceedings to each of these parties is a stay of legal proceedings, and a stay of enforcement proceedings against collateral for such loans or underlying such securities (including the properties and cash collateral). A stay of foreclosure proceedings could adversely affect our ability to realize on our loan collateral, and could adversely affect the value of those assets. Other protections in such proceedings to borrowers, owners and tenants include the restructuring or forgiveness of debt, the ability to create super priority liens in favor of certain creditors of the debtor, the potential loss of cash collateral held by the lender if the lender is over-collateralized, and certain well defined claims procedures. Additionally, the numerous risks inherent in the bankruptcy process create a potential risk of loss of our entire investment in any particular investment.

Insurance on the real estate underlying our loans and investments may not cover all losses, and this shortfall could result in both loss of cash flow from and a decrease in the asset value of the affected property.

The borrower, or we as property owner and/or originating lender, as the case may be, might not purchase enough or the proper types of insurance coverage to cover all losses. Further, there are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pandemics, terrorism or acts of war or civil unrest that may be uninsurable or not economically insurable. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors, including terrorism or acts of war, also might make the insurance proceeds insufficient to repair or replace a property if it is damaged or destroyed. Under such circumstances, the insurance proceeds received might not be adequate to restore our economic position with respect to the affected real property. Any uninsured loss could result in both loss of cash flow from and a decrease in the asset value of the affected property.

Provisions for loan losses are difficult to estimate. Our reserves for loan losses may prove inadequate, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

We maintain and regularly evaluate financial reserves to protect against potential future losses. Our reserves reflect management’s judgment of the probability and severity of losses. We cannot be certain that our judgment will prove to be correct and that reserves will be adequate over time to protect against potential future losses because of unanticipated adverse changes in the economy or events adversely affecting specific assets, borrowers, industries in which our borrowers operate or markets in which our borrowers or their properties are located. We must evaluate existing conditions on our debt investments to make determinations to record loan loss reserves on these specific investments. If our reserves for credit losses prove inadequate, we could suffer losses which would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance.

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13 Financial Instruments - Credit Losses - Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326) (“ASU 2016-13”) and in April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04 Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments (“ASU 2019-04”) (collectively, the “CECL Standard”). These updates change how entities measure potential credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value. The CECL Standard replaces the “incurred loss” approach under existing guidance with an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. The net carrying value of an asset under the CECL Standard is intended to represent the amount expected to be collected on such asset and requires entities to deduct allowances for potential losses on mortgage loan receivables held for investment, net and held-to-maturity debt securities. All assets subject to the CECL Standard, with few exceptions, are subject to these allowances rather than only those assets where a loss is deemed probable under the other-than-temporary impairment model. Accordingly, the adoption of the CECL Standard materially affected how we determine our allowance for credit losses and required us to increase our allowance and recognize provisions for loan losses earlier in the lending cycle. While ASU 2016-13 does not require any particular method for determining the CECL allowance, it does specify the allowance should be based on relevant information about past events, including historical loss experience, current portfolio and market conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts for the duration of each respective loan. Because our methodology for determining CECL allowances may differ from the methodologies employed by other companies, our CECL allowances may not be comparable with the CECL allowances reported by other companies.

We continue to record asset-specific reserves consistent with our existing accounting policy. Our provision for asset-specific reserves are evaluated on a quarterly basis. The determination of our provision for asset-specific reserves requires us to make

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certain estimates and judgments, which may be difficult to determine. Our estimates and judgments are based on a number of factors, including (1) whether cash from operations is sufficient to cover the debt service requirements currently and into the future, (2) the ability of the borrower to refinance the loan and (3) the property’s liquidation value, all of which remain uncertain and are subjective. In addition, we will now record a general reserve in accordance with the CECL Standard on the remainder of the loan portfolio (“CECL Reserve”). The CECL Standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and was adopted through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2020. The CECL Standard may create more volatility in the level of our allowance for credit losses. If we are required to materially increase our level of allowance for credit losses for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our investments in subordinate loans, subordinate participation interests in loans and subordinate CMBS rank junior to other senior debt and we may be unable to recover our investment in these interests.

We may originate or acquire subordinate loans (including mezzanine loans), subordinate participation interests in loans and subordinate rated and/or unrated CMBS (including, without limitation, certain “risk retention” interests required to be retained by certain participants in securitization transactions under rules which took effect in December 2016). In the event a borrower defaults on a loan and lacks sufficient assets to satisfy our loan, we may suffer a loss of principal or interest. In the event a borrower declares bankruptcy, we may not have full recourse to the assets of the borrower or a non-recourse carve-out guarantor, or the assets of the borrower or non-recourse carve-out guarantors may not be sufficient to satisfy the loan and our legal costs. In addition, certain of our loans may be subordinate to other debt of the borrower. If a borrower defaults on a subordinate loan to us or on debt senior to our loan, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our loan will be satisfied only after the senior debt is paid in full. Where debt senior to our loan exists, the presence of intercreditor arrangements may limit our ability to amend loan documents, assign our loans, accept prepayments, exercise remedies and control decisions made in bankruptcy proceedings relating to borrowers.

If a borrower defaults on our mezzanine loan, subordinate loan or debt senior to any loan, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our loan will be satisfied only after the senior debt is paid in full. As a result, we may not recover some or all of our initial expenditure. In addition, mezzanine and subordinate loans may have higher loan-to-value ratios than first mortgage loans, resulting in less equity in the property and increasing the risk of loss of principal. Significant losses related to our mezzanine loans or subordinate loans would result in operating losses for us.

In general, losses on a mortgaged property securing a mortgage loan included in a securitization will be borne first by the equity holder of the property, then by a cash reserve fund or letter of credit, if any, then by the holder of a mezzanine loan or B-Note, if any, then by the “first loss” subordinated security holder (generally, the “B-Piece” buyer and in some cases by the holder of a risk retention interest) and then by the holder of a higher-rated security. Even when we purchase very senior interests in loans and/or securitizations, in the event of default and the exhaustion of any equity support, reserve fund, letter of credit, mezzanine loans or B-Notes, and any classes of securities junior to those in which we may invest, we may not be able to recover all of our investment in the debt instruments or securities we purchased. In addition, if the underlying mortgage portfolio has been overvalued by the originator, or if the values subsequently decline and, as a result, less collateral is available to satisfy interest and principal payments due on the related mortgage-backed securities, the securities in which we may invest may effectively become the “first loss” position behind the more senior securities, which may result in significant losses to us. The prices of lower credit quality securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual issuer developments. A projection of an economic downturn, for example, could cause a decline in the price of lower credit quality securities because the ability of obligors of mortgage loans underlying the mortgage-backed securities to make principal and interest payments may be impaired. In such event, existing credit support in the securitization structure may be insufficient to protect us against loss of our principal in these securities.

Our participation in the market for mortgage loan securitizations may expose us to risks that could result in losses to us.

We have generally participated in the market for mortgage loan securitizations by contributing loans to securitizations led by various large financial institutions, leading single-asset securitizations on single mortgage loans we originated or leading multi-asset CLO transactions. We have completed one multi-asset CMBS securitization and three multi-asset CLO transactions where a Ladder affiliate served as issuer. To date, when we have primarily acted as a mortgage loan seller into, and occasionally as an issuer of, securitizations, we have been obligated to assume certain customary liabilities. Specifically, in connection with any particular securitization, we: (i) make certain representations and warranties regarding ourselves and the characteristics of, and origination process for, the mortgage loans that we contribute to the securitization; (ii) undertake to cure a defect of, repurchase or replace any mortgage loan that we contribute to the securitization that is affected by a material breach of any such representation or warranty or a material loan document deficiency; (iii) assume, either directly or through the indemnification of third-parties, potential securities law liabilities for disclosure to investors regarding ourselves and the mortgage loans that we

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contribute to the securitization; and (iv) may, depending upon our role in the securitization, (a) retain some or all of the risk retention interests in the securitization and/or (b) retain responsibility for ensuring compliance with risk retention rules (and may be required to indemnify other participants in the securitization for any violation of such rules, including in circumstances where some or all of the risk retention interests are retained by and/or sold to other parties). When we lead a single-asset or multi-asset securitization as an issuer, we assume, either directly or through indemnification agreements, additional potential securities law liabilities and third-party liabilities beyond the liabilities we would assume when we act only as a mortgage loan seller into a securitization.

When we participate in a public securitization, certain Risk Retention Rules apply. The Risk Retention Rules generally require that either (i) a securitization’s sponsor retain, until the unpaid balance of the bonds or the loans is reduced by a certain amount, a 5% vertical interest in each class of securities issued, (ii) the sponsor or certain Third Party Purchasers retain, until the unpaid balance of the bonds or the loans is reduced by a certain amount (or for Third Party Purchasers, for at least five years), securities in an amount equal to 5% of the credit risk associated with the issued securities in the form of one or more subordinate tranches or (iii) a combination of (i) and (ii). The risk (with respect to CMBS) must be retained by the sponsor, certain mortgage loan originators and/or, upon satisfaction of certain requirements, a Third Party Purchaser. Significant restrictions exist, and additional restrictions may be added in the future, regarding who may hold risk retention interests, the structure of the entities that hold risk retention interests and when and how such risk retention interests may be transferred or financed. Therefore such risk retention interests will be generally illiquid and may not be easily financed. As a result of the Risk Retention Rules, we may be required to purchase and retain certain interests in a securitization into which we sell mortgage loans and/or when we act as issuer, may be required to sell certain interests in a securitization at prices below levels that such interests have historically yielded and/or may be required to enter into certain arrangements related to risk retention that we have not historically been required to enter into and, accordingly, the Risk Retention Rules may increase our potential liabilities and/or reduce our potential profits in connection with securitization of mortgage loans.

In addition, for public securitizations, there are requirements that the CEO of an issuer file with the SEC an individual certificate attesting to certain matters. The requirement that the CEO of an issuer of public securities file an individual certificate with the SEC may introduce additional potential liabilities whether we serve as issuer in a securitization or solely as a loan seller or loan originator. The CEO certification includes statements as to the absence of any untrue or omitted material information relating to the mortgage loans and the ability of the mortgage loans to support the payments required to be made under the bonds issued in connection with the securitization in accordance with their terms. The full extent of liability that the CEO may have to the SEC and/or investors on account of the certified statements is difficult to determine at this time. If we serve as issuer in a securitization, we would likely to be obligated to indemnify the CEO of our issuer entity against any liabilities that such individual may incur in connection with such certification. In addition, in securitization transactions in which we serve as only loan seller or an originator that sells loans to a loan seller (and not as an issuer), we would likely be obligated to provide a back-up officer’s certificate from a senior officer as to our mortgage loans as support for the issuer’s CEO certification, and similarly be obligated to indemnify that senior officer against any liabilities that individual may incur in connection with his/her back-up officer’s certification.

The Risk Retention Rules, CEO certification and other rules and regulations that have been adopted or may be adopted in the future may alter the structure of securitizations and could pose additional risks to or reduce or eliminate the economic benefits of our participation in the securitization market.

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We may sponsor, or purchase the most junior securities of collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, and such instruments involve significant risks, including that these securities receive distributions from the CLO only if the CLO generates enough income to first pay all the investors holding senior tranches and all CLO expenses.

We have contributed shorter-term loans into CLO transactions in which we retained securities rated below-investment grade. In CLOs, investors purchase specific tranches, or slices, of debt instruments that are secured or backed by a pool of loans. The CLO debt classes have a specific seniority structure and priority of payments. The most junior securities of a CLO are generally retained by the sponsor of the CLO and are usually entitled to all of the income generated by the pool of loans after the payment of debt service on all the more senior classes of debt and the payment of all expenses. Defaults on the pool of loans therefore first affect the most junior tranches. The subordinate tranches of CLO debt may also experience a lower recovery and greater risk of loss, including risk of deferral or non-payment of interest than more senior tranches of the CLO debt because they bear the bulk of defaults from the loans held in the CLO and serve to protect the other, more senior tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Often CLOs contain loans that are more transitional than loans contributed to conduit securitizations. Despite the protection provided by the subordinate tranches, even more senior CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, decline in market value due to market anticipation of defaults and aversion to CLO securities as a class. Further, the transaction documents relating to the issuance of CLO securities may impose eligibility criteria on the assets of the CLO, restrict the ability of the CLO’s sponsor to trade investments and impose certain portfolio-wide asset quality requirements. Finally, the Risk Retention Rule imposes a retention requirement of 5% of the issued debt classes by the sponsor of the CLO (as described above). These criteria, restrictions and requirements may limit the ability of the CLO’s sponsor (or collateral manager) to maximize returns on the CLO securities.

In addition, CLOs are not actively traded and are relatively illiquid investments and volatility in CLO trading market may cause the value of these investments to decline. The market value of CLO securities may be affected by, among other things, changes in the market value of the underlying loans held by the CLO, changes in the distributions on the underlying loans, defaults and recoveries on the underlying loans, capital gains and losses on the underlying losses (or foreclosure assets), prepayments on underlying loan and the availability, prices and interest rate of underlying loans. Furthermore, the leveraged nature of each subordinated tranche may magnify the adverse impact on such class of changes in the value of the loans, changes in the distributions on the loans, defaults and recoveries on the loans, capital gains and losses on the loans (or foreclosure assets), prepayment on loans and availability, price and interest rates of the loans.

Because of the requirements of the Risk Retention Rule, if we purchase a horizontal subordinate strip of a CLO to satisfy the Risk Retention Rule, we would not be able to dispose of those subordinate interests during the required risk retention period, which may increase our risk of loss.

A CLO may include certain interest coverage tests, overcollateralization coverage tests or other tests that, if not met, may result in a change in the priority of distributions, which may result in the reduction or elimination of distributions to the subordinate debt and equity tranches until the tests have been met or certain senior classes of securities have been paid in full. Accordingly, if we hold subordinate debt interests in a CLO that contains such tests and such tests are not satisfied, we may experience a significant reduction in our cash flow from those interests.

Furthermore, if any CLO that we sponsor or hold interests in fails to meet certain tests relevant to the most senior debt issued and outstanding by the CLO issuer, an event of default may occur under that CLO. If that occurs, (i) if we were serving as manager of the CLO, our ability to manage the CLO may be terminated and (ii) our ability to attempt to cure any defaults in the CLO may be limited, which would increase the likelihood of a reduction or elimination of cash flow and returns to us in the CLOs for an indefinite time.

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We may be subject to repurchases of loans or indemnification on loans and real estate that we have sold if certain representations or warranties in those sales are breached.

If loans that we sell or securitize do not comply with representations and warranties that we make about the loans, the borrowers, or the underlying properties, we may be required to repurchase such loans (including from a trust vehicle used to facilitate a structured financing of the assets through a securitization) or replace them with substitute loans. Additionally, in the case of loans and real estate that we have sold, we may be required to indemnify persons for losses or expenses incurred as a result of a breach of a representation or warranty. Repurchased loans typically will require a significant allocation of working capital to be carried on our books, and our ability to borrow against such assets may be limited. Any significant repurchases or indemnification payments could adversely affect our business and reputation.

If we purchase or originate loans secured by liens on facilities that are subject to a ground lease and such ground lease is terminated unexpectedly, our interests could be adversely affected.