Company: MITN
Filing Date: 2025-03-04
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001514281-25-000026
Chunk: 56

Company: AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-04
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 56
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, exposes us to the first loss on the mortgage assets held by the securitization vehicle. Additionally, the principal and interest payments on Non-Agency RMBS are not guaranteed by any entity, including any government entity or GSE, and therefore are subject to increased risks, including credit risk.

Our investments include Non-Agency RMBS which are backed by non-QM and other residential mortgage loans that are not issued or guaranteed by a GSE or the U.S. government. Within a securitization of residential mortgage loans, various securities are created, each of which has varying degrees of credit risk. We anticipate that our investments in Non-Agency RMBS will be concentrated in lower-rated and unrated securities in which we are exposed to the first loss on the residential mortgage loans held by the securitization vehicle, which will subject us to the most concentrated credit risk associated with the underlying residential mortgage loans.

Additionally, the principal and interest on Non-Agency RMBS, unlike those on Agency RMBS, are not guaranteed by GSEs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or, in the case of Ginnie Mae, the U.S. government. Non-Agency RMBS are subject to many of the risks of the underlying mortgage loans. A residential mortgage loan is typically secured by a single-family residential property and is subject to risks of delinquency and foreclosure and risk of loss. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by a residential property is dependent upon the income or assets of the borrower. A number of factors, including, but not limited to, a general economic downturn, unemployment, energy costs, acts of God, war or other geopolitical conflict, terrorism, inflation, social unrest and civil disturbances, may impair the borrower's ability to repay its mortgage loan. In addition, recent increases in mortgage rates have generally not led to lower housing costs (including due to a possible "lock-in" effect), which has led to significantly lower home affordability and thus adversely impacted the cost of owning a home, which could lead to an increase in defaults on the mortgage loans underlying many of our investments. In periods following home price declines, "strategic defaults" (decisions by borrowers to default on their mortgage loans despite having the ability to pay) also may become more prevalent. In the event of defaults under residential mortgage loans backing any of our Non-Agency RMBS, we will bear a risk of loss of principal to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral and the principal and accrued interest of the residential