Andy Witt
Analyst · Eric Hagen with BTIG. Please go ahead
Thank you, Mike and good morning everyone. During the fourth quarter, our focus remained on asset liability management. We received $383 million in repayments and partial pay-downs across 12 investments during the quarter compared to $40 million in repayments and partial pay-downs across four investments in the prior quarter. While we are pleased with the increase in repayments and partial pay-downs, we continue to expect loan repayment volume to remain relatively low for the next couple of quarters. During the quarter, we executed on one loan origination which was done in conjunction with a loan recap and payoff. We closed on a preferred equity loan to support the payoff of the largest multifamily loan in our portfolio, which was $182 million and was originated in 2019. This payoff and recap resulted in a reduction in total exposure and last dollar attachment point from $182 million to its current $22 million preferred position with the last dollar attachment point of $144 million. The senior loan was refinanced with a GSE agency lender and the balance of the payoff proceeds came from borrower equity. Repayment activity during the quarter resulted in loan portfolio decreasing to $3.5 billion from $3.9 billion last quarter. Total at-share undepreciated assets currently stand at $4.9 billion, down from $5.3 billion last quarter, a direct result of negative net deployment. Subsequent to quarter end, there has been $69 million in repayments and partial pay-downs across three investments. As previously highlighted, we anticipated loan repayment volume will remain relatively low over the course of the year. We expect sponsors will let to or have little choice other than to hold properties longer in anticipation of an improved capital markets environment while continuing to execute on the underlying business plan. Subsequent to quarter end, we had a modification to $116 million office loan, the largest office loan in our portfolio. This modification included the sale of one of the four underlying office properties coupled with an equity contribution from the borrower reducing our exposure to this loan by $29 million. The current balance of the loan post modification has been reduced to $87 million. With interest rates at current levels and trending higher, we anticipate more loan extensions and modifications within the portfolio. As of December 31, 2022, excluding cash and net assets on the balance sheet, the loan portfolio is comprised of 103 investments with an aggregate gross book value of $3.5 billion and a net book value of $977 million or 86% of the total investment portfolio. The average loan size is $34 million and our risk rating is 3.2. First mortgage loans constitute 96% of our loan portfolio, of which 100% are floating rate and all of which have rate caps. The total portfolio has minimal exposure to construction risk and 74% of the total collateral is located in markets that are growing at or above the national average growth rate. Multifamily, the asset class price buyer has the largest exposure too, consists of 59 loans representing 49% of the loan portfolio, or $1.7 billion of aggregate gross book value. The loan portfolio composition includes 33% office or $1.2 billion of aggregate gross book value. There are 32 office loans with an average loan balance of $37 million. As Mike mentioned, we are acutely focused on the office portion of our portfolio given work-from-home dynamics are greatly impacting certain markets. Despite these headwinds during the fourth quarter, certain borrowers made critical leasing progress in markets, which include two office loans in San Francisco Proper and one office loan in Baltimore, Maryland. Our office loan portfolio is granular with loan sizes ranging from $12 million to $116 million, which we view as a meaningful risk mitigant. As stated earlier, the $116 million loan was reduced to $87 million subsequent to quarter end. Approximately 58% of our office exposure was originated post-COVID and adheres to the characteristics Mike highlighted. Assets located in high growth, drive to work markets with granular rent rolls and the in-place cash flows. The weighted average occupancy across the portfolio is 72%. The remainder of our loan portfolio is comprised of 12% hospitality, with industrial and mixed-use collateral, making up the rest. Subsequent to quarter end, BrightSpire made progress on our hospitality exposure through restructuring of mezzanine investment, which included a partial pay-down of the senior loan reducing BrightSpire’s last dollar attachment point. Separately, one hotel property is currently being marketed for sale by the borrower. For your convenience, our 2022 Form 10-K filing includes enhanced loan table aggregations by property type, so investors can more easily review our loan data by asset class. We continue to manage the liability side of our balance sheet through a combination of financing sources, which include warehouse facilities across five primary banking relationships totaling $2.25 billion. As of today, availability under our warehouse line stands at approximately $940 million, which represents a 58% aggregate utilization rate. Additionally, we have two outstanding CLOs totaling $1.5 billion. At present, approximately 42% of our loan collateral has been contributed to CLOs, 53% is on our warehouse lines and 5% is unencumbered. In summary, it was an active fourth quarter particularly related to asset and balance sheet management. We increased liquidity and addressed some of the largest loans in our portfolio, while increasing earnings quarter-over-quarter. Going forward, we will remain focused on asset management and maintaining higher than normal levels of liquidity. With that, I will turn the call over to Frank Saracino, our Chief Financial Officer to elaborate on the fourth quarter results. Frank?