Company: RWT-PA
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000930236-25-000007
Chunk: 218

Company: REDWOOD TRUST INC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 218
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 into interest rate agreements that provide an appropriate and efficient method for hedging certain risks related to changes in interest rates.

The use of interest rate agreements and other instruments to hedge certain of our risks may have the effect over time of lowering long-term earnings to the extent these risks do not materialize. To the extent that we hedge, it is usually to seek to protect us from some of the effects of short-term interest rate volatility, to reduce short-term earnings volatility, to stabilize liability costs or fair values, to stabilize our economic returns from a securitization transaction, or to stabilize the future cost of anticipated issuance of securities by a securitization entity. Hedging may not achieve our desired goals. For example, in response to market dislocations during 2020 resulting from the COVID pandemic, we made the determination that our interest rate hedges were no longer effective in hedging asset market values, and we terminated or closed out substantially all of our outstanding interest rate hedges and, overall, incurred realized losses. Although we have re-established certain interest rate risk hedging activities, there can be no assurance that future market conditions and our financial condition in the future will enable us to maintain an effective interest rate risk hedging program. Even in times of ordinary market and economic conditions, hedging with respect to the pipeline of loans we plan to purchase may not be effective due to loan fallout or other reasons. Using interest rate agreements as a hedge may increase short-term earnings volatility, especially if we do not elect certain accounting treatments for our hedges or hedged items. Reductions in fair values of interest rate agreements may not be offset by increases in fair values of the assets or liabilities being hedged. Conversely, increases in fair values of interest rate agreements may not fully offset declines in fair values of assets or liabilities being hedged. Changes in fair values of interest rate agreements may require us to pledge significant amounts of cash or other acceptable forms of collateral.

We also may hedge by taking short, forward, or long positions in U.S. Treasuries, mortgage securities, or other financial instruments. We may take both long and short positions in credit derivative transactions linked to real estate assets. These derivatives may have additional risks to us, such as: liquidity risk, due to the fact that there may not be a ready market into which we could sell these derivatives if needed; basis risk, which could result in a decline in value or a requirement to make a cash payment as a result of 

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changes in interest rates; and counterparty risk,