Orchid Island Capital, Inc. - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10K

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016

Commission File Number:  001-35236

Orchid Island Capital, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

3305 Flamingo Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(772) 231-1400

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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 and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).   Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation SK is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10K or any amendment to this Form 10K.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes   No 

As of June 30, 2016 the aggregate market value of the common stock held by nonaffiliates was $214,769,044

Number of shares outstanding at February 17, 2017: 32,964,547

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the Registrant's definitive Proxy Statement, to be issued in connection with the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Registrant, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ORCHID ISLAND CAPITAL, INC.

INDEX

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We make forward-looking statements in this annual report that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "should," "may," "plans," "projects," "will," or similar expressions, or the negative of these words, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects are forward-looking by their nature:

	our business and investment strategy;

	our expected operating results;

	our ability to acquire investments on attractive terms;

	the effect of actual or proposed actions of the U.S. Federal Reserve with respect to monetary policy or interest rates;

	the effect of U.S. government actions on interest rates, fiscal policy and the housing and credit markets;

	the effect of rising interest rates on unemployment, inflation and mortgage supply and demand;

	the effect of increased prepayment rates on the value of our assets;

	our ability to access the capital markets;

	our ability to obtain future financing arrangements;

	our ability to successfully hedge the interest rate risk and prepayment risk associated with our portfolio;

	the federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and related efforts, along with any changes in laws and regulations affecting the relationship between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the U.S. Government;

	our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future;

	mortgage loan modification programs and future legislative action;

	our understanding of our competition and our ability to compete effectively;

	our ability to quantify risk based on historical experience;

	our ability to qualify and maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

	our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act;

	our ability to maintain the listing of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE;

	market trends;

	expected capital expenditures; and

	the impact of technology on our operations and business.

The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. Some of these factors are described under the caption ''Risk Factors'' in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.  If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to, and do not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Our Company

We were formed by Bimini Capital Management, Inc. (sometimes referred to herein as "Bimini") in August 2010, commenced operations on November 24, 2010 and completed our initial public offering on February 20, 2013. On October 8, 2014, we transferred the listing of our common stock from the NYSE MKT to the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and trade under the symbol "ORC."

Bimini managed our portfolio from our inception through the completion of our initial public offering on February 20, 2013.  Upon completion of the offering, we became externally managed by Bimini Advisors, LLC ("Bimini Advisors," or our "Manager"). Our Manager is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Additionally, our Manager is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bimini, which has a long track record of managing investments in Agency RMBS.

We are organized and conduct our operations to qualify to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or "REIT," for federal income tax purposes.  As such, we are required to distribute 90% of our taxable net income annually. We generally will not be subject to income taxes on our net taxable income to the extent we currently distribute our net taxable income to our stockholders and maintain our REIT qualification. It is our intention to distribute 100% of our taxable net income, after application of available tax attributes, within the limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), which may extend into the subsequent taxable year.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the "JOBS Act"), and as such, we are not required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act"), we have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and we are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Although we are an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, we have elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, and such election is irrevocable.

Our Manager

Upon completion of our initial public offering, we became externally managed and advised by Bimini Advisors and its experienced RMBS investment team pursuant to the terms of a management agreement.  Our Manager is a Maryland limited liability company that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bimini. We believe our relationship with our Manager enables us to leverage our Manager's established portfolio management resources for each of our targeted asset classes and its infrastructure supporting those resources.  Additionally, we have benefitted and expect to continue to benefit from our Manager's finance and administration functions, which address legal, compliance, investor relations and operational matters, including portfolio management, trade allocation and execution, securities valuation, risk management and information technologies in connection with the performance of its duties.  Our Manager's parent, Bimini, commenced active investment management operations in 2003, as it self-manages its own portfolio.

Our Manager is responsible for administering our business activities and day-to-day operations.  Pursuant to the terms of the management agreement, our Manager provides us with our management team, including our officers, along with appropriate support personnel.  Our Manager is at all times subject to the supervision and oversight of our board of directors (the "Board of Directors") and has only such functions and authority as we delegate to it.

Our Investment and Capital Allocation Strategy

Investment Strategy

Our business objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted total returns to our investors over the long term through a combination of capital appreciation and the payment of regular monthly distributions. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in and strategically allocating capital between pass-through Agency RMBS and structured Agency RMBS. We seek to generate income from (i) the net interest margin on our leveraged pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio and the leveraged portion of our structured Agency RMBS portfolio, and (ii) the interest income we generate from the unleveraged portion of our structured Agency RMBS portfolio. We also seek to minimize the volatility of both the net asset value of, and income from, our portfolio through a process which emphasizes capital allocation, asset selection, liquidity and active interest rate risk management.

We fund our pass-through Agency RMBS and certain of our structured Agency RMBS, such as fixed and floating rate tranches of CMOs and POs, through repurchase agreements. However, we generally do not employ leverage on our structured Agency RMBS that have no principal balance, such as IOs and IIOs. We may pledge a portion of these assets to increase our cash balance, but we do not intend to invest the cash derived from pledging the assets. Otherwise, we do not use leverage in these instances because the securities contain structural leverage.

Our target asset categories and principal assets in which we intend to invest are as follows:

Pass-through Agency RMBS

We invest in pass-through securities, which are securities secured by residential real property in which payments of both interest and principal on the securities are generally made monthly. In effect, these securities pass through the monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the mortgage loans that underlie the securities, net of fees paid to the issuer or guarantor of the securities. Pass-through certificates can be divided into various categories based on the characteristics of the underlying mortgages, such as the term or whether the interest rate is fixed or variable.

The payment of principal and interest on mortgage pass-through securities issued by Ginnie Mae, but not the market value, is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. Payment of principal and interest on mortgage pass-through certificates issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but not the market value, is guaranteed by the respective agency issuing the security.

A key feature of most mortgage loans is the ability of the borrower to repay principal earlier than scheduled. This is called a prepayment. Prepayments arise primarily due to sale of the underlying property, refinancing or foreclosure. Prepayments result in a return of principal to pass-through certificate holders. This may result in a lower or higher rate of return upon reinvestment of principal. This is generally referred to as prepayment uncertainty. If a security purchased at a premium prepays at a higher-than-expected rate, then the value of the premium would be eroded at a faster-than-expected rate. Similarly, if a discount mortgage prepays at a lower-than-expected rate, the amortization towards par would be accumulated at a slower-than-expected rate. The possibility of these undesirable effects is sometimes referred to as "prepayment risk."

In general, declining interest rates tend to increase prepayments, and rising interest rates tend to slow prepayments. Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise, the value of Agency RMBS generally declines. The rate of prepayments on underlying mortgages will affect the price and volatility of Agency RMBS and may shorten or extend the effective maturity of the security beyond what was anticipated at the time of purchase. If interest rates rise, our holdings of Agency RMBS may experience reduced spreads over our funding costs if the borrowers of the underlying mortgages pay off their mortgages later than anticipated. This is generally referred to as "extension risk."

The mortgage loans underlying pass-through certificates can generally be classified into the following three categories:



Fixed-Rate Mortgages. Fixed-rate mortgages are those where the borrower pays an interest rate that is constant throughout the term of the loan. Traditionally, most fixed-rate mortgages have an original term of 30 years. However, shorter terms (also referred to as "final maturity dates") have become common in recent years. Because the interest rate on the loan never changes, even when market interest rates change, there can be a divergence between the interest rate on the loan and current market interest rates over time. This in turn can make fixed-rate mortgages price-sensitive to market fluctuations in interest rates. In general, the longer the remaining term on the mortgage loan, the greater the price sensitivity to movements in interest rates and, therefore, the likelihood for greater price variability.



ARMs. ARMs are mortgages for which the borrower pays an interest rate that varies over the term of the loan. The interest rate usually resets based on market interest rates, although the adjustment of such an interest rate may be subject to certain limitations. Traditionally, interest rate resets occur at regular intervals (for example, once per year). We refer to such ARMs as "traditional" ARMs. Because the interest rates on ARMs fluctuate based on market conditions, ARMs tend to have interest rates that do not deviate from current market rates by a large amount. This in turn can mean that ARMs have less price sensitivity to interest rates and, consequently, are less likely to experience significant price volatility.



Hybrid Adjustable-Rate Mortgages. Hybrid ARMs have a fixed-rate for the first few years of the loan, often three, five, seven or ten years, and thereafter reset periodically like a traditional ARM. Effectively, such mortgages are hybrids, combining the features of a pure fixed-rate mortgage and a traditional ARM. Hybrid ARMs have price sensitivity to interest rates similar to that of a fixed-rate mortgage during the period when the interest rate is fixed and similar to that of an ARM when the interest rate is in its periodic reset stage. However, because many hybrid ARMs are structured with a relatively short initial time span during which the interest rate is fixed, even during that segment of its existence, the price sensitivity may be high.

Structured Agency RMBS

We also invest in structured Agency RMBS, which include CMOs, IOs, IIOs and POs. The payment of principal and interest, as appropriate, on structured Agency RMBS issued by Ginnie Mae, but not the market value, is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. Payment of principal and interest, as appropriate, on structured Agency RMBS issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but not the market value, is guaranteed by the respective agency issuing the security. The types of structured Agency RMBS in which we invest are described below.



CMOs. CMOs are a type of RMBS the principal and interest of which are paid, in most cases, on a monthly basis. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans, but are more typically collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities issued directly by or under the auspices of Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. CMOs are structured into multiple classes, with each class bearing a different stated maturity. Monthly payments of principal, including prepayments, are first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class. Investors holding the longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. Generally, fixed-rate mortgages are used to collateralize CMOs. However, the CMO tranches need not all have fixed-rate coupons. Some CMO tranches have floating rate coupons that adjust based on market interest rates, subject to some limitations. Such tranches, often called "CMO floaters," can have relatively low price sensitivity to interest rates.



IOs. IOs represent the stream of interest payments on a pool of mortgages, either fixed-rate mortgages or hybrid ARMs. Holders of IOs have no claim to any principal payments. The value of IOs depends primarily on two factors, which are prepayments and interest rates. Prepayments on the underlying pool of mortgages reduce the stream of interest payments going forward, hence IOs are highly sensitive to prepayment rates. IOs are also sensitive to changes in interest rates. An increase in interest rates reduces the present value of future interest payments on a pool of mortgages. On the other hand, an increase in interest rates has a tendency to reduce prepayments, which increases the expected absolute amount of future interest payments.



IIOs. IIOs represent the stream of interest payments on a pool of mortgages, either fixed-rate mortgages or hybrid ARMs. Holders of IIOs have no claim to any principal payments. The value of IIOs depends primarily on three factors, which are prepayments, London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and term interest rates. Prepayments on the underlying pool of mortgages reduce the stream of interest payments, making IIOs highly sensitive to prepayment rates. The coupon on IIOs is derived from both the coupon interest rate on the underlying pool of mortgages and 30-day LIBOR. IIOs are typically created in conjunction with a floating rate CMO that has a principal balance and which is entitled to receive all of the principal payments on the underlying pool of mortgages. The coupon on the floating rate CMO is also based on 30-day LIBOR. Typically, the coupon on the floating rate CMO and the IIO, when combined, equal the coupon on the pool of underlying mortgages. The coupon on the pool of underlying mortgages typically represents a cap or ceiling on the combined coupons of the floating rate CMO and the IIO. Accordingly, when the value of 30-day LIBOR increases, the coupon of the floating rate CMO will increase and the coupon on the IIO will decrease. When the value of 30-day LIBOR falls, the opposite is true. Accordingly, the value of IIOs are sensitive to the level of 30-day LIBOR and expectations by market participants of future movements in the level of 30-day LIBOR. IIOs are also sensitive to changes in interest rates. An increase in interest rates reduces the present value of future interest payments on a pool of mortgages. On the other hand, an increase in interest rates has a tendency to reduce prepayments, which increases the expected absolute amount of future interest payments.



POs. POs represent the stream of principal payments on a pool of mortgages. Holders of POs have no claim to any interest payments, although the ultimate amount of principal to be received over time is known, equaling the principal balance of the underlying pool of mortgages. The timing of the receipt of the principal payments is not known. The value of POs depends primarily on two factors, which are prepayments and interest rates. Prepayments on the underlying pool of mortgages accelerate the stream of principal repayments, making POs highly sensitive to the rate at which the mortgages in the pool are prepaid. POs are also sensitive to changes in interest rates. An increase in interest rates reduces the present value of future principal payments on a pool of mortgages. Further, an increase in interest rates has a tendency to reduce prepayments, which decelerates, or pushes further out in time, the ultimate receipt of the principal payments. The opposite is true when interest rates decline.

Our investment strategy consists of the following components:

	investing in pass-through Agency RMBS and certain structured Agency RMBS, such as fixed and floating rate tranches of CMOs and POs, on a leveraged basis to increase returns on the capital allocated to this portfolio;



investing in certain structured Agency RMBS, such as IOs and IIOs, generally on an unleveraged basis in order to (i) increase returns due to the structural leverage contained in such securities, (ii) enhance liquidity due to the fact that these securities will be unencumbered or, when encumbered, retain the cash from such borrowings and (iii) diversify portfolio interest rate risk due to the different interest rate sensitivity these securities have compared to pass-through Agency RMBS;

	investing in Agency RMBS in order to minimize credit risk;

	investing in assets that will cause us to maintain our exclusion from regulation as an investment company under the Investment Company Act; and

	investing in assets that will allow us to qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT.

We rely on our Manager's expertise in identifying assets within our target asset class.  Our Manager makes investment decisions based on various factors, including, but not limited to, relative value, expected cash yield, supply and demand, costs of hedging, costs of financing, liquidity requirements, expected future interest rate volatility and the overall shape of the U.S. Treasury and interest rate swap yield curves. We do not attribute any particular quantitative significance to any of these factors, and the weight we give to these factors depends on market conditions and economic trends.

Over time, we will modify our investment strategy as market conditions change to seek to maximize the returns from our investment portfolio.  We believe that this strategy, combined with our Manager's experience, will enable us to provide attractive long-term returns to our stockholders.

Capital Allocation Strategy

The percentage of capital invested in our two asset categories will vary and will be managed in an effort to maintain the level of income generated by the combined portfolios, the stability of that income stream and the stability of the value of the combined portfolios. Typically, pass-through Agency RMBS and structured Agency RMBS exhibit materially different sensitivities to movements in interest rates. Declines in the value of one portfolio may be offset by appreciation in the other, although we cannot assure you that this will be the case. Additionally, our Manager will seek to maintain adequate liquidity as it allocates capital.

We allocate our capital to assist our interest rate risk management efforts. The unleveraged portfolio does not require unencumbered cash or cash equivalents to be maintained in anticipation of possible margin calls. To the extent more capital is deployed in the unleveraged portfolio, our liquidity needs will generally be less.

During periods of rising interest rates, refinancing opportunities available to borrowers typically decrease because borrowers are not able to refinance their current mortgage loans with new mortgage loans at lower interest rates. In such instances, securities that are highly sensitive to refinancing activity, such as IOs and IIOs, typically increase in value. Our capital allocation strategy allows us to redeploy our capital into such securities when and if we believe interest rates will be higher in the future, thereby allowing us to hold securities the value of which we believe is likely to increase as interest rates rise. Also, by being able to re-allocate capital into structured Agency RMBS, such as IOs, during periods of rising interest rates, we may be able to offset the likely decline in the value of our pass-through Agency RMBS, which are negatively impacted by rising interest rates.

We intend to operate in a manner that will not subject us to regulation under the Investment Company Act. In order to rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) under the Investment Company Act, we must maintain at least 55% of our assets in qualifying real estate assets. For purposes of this test, structured Agency RMBS are non-qualifying real estate assets. Accordingly, while we have no explicit limitation on the amount of our capital that we will deploy to the unleveraged structured Agency RMBS portfolio, we will deploy our capital in such a way so as to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act.

Financing Strategy

We borrow against our Agency RMBS using short term repurchase agreements. We may use other sources of leverage, such as secured or unsecured debt or issuances of preferred stock. We do not have a policy limiting the amount of leverage we may incur. However, we generally expect that the ratio of our total liabilities compared to our equity, which we refer to as our leverage ratio, will be less than 12 to 1. Our amount of leverage may vary depending on market conditions and other factors that we deem relevant.

We allocate our capital between two sub-portfolios. The pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio will be leveraged generally through repurchase agreement funding. The structured Agency RMBS portfolio generally will not be leveraged. The leverage ratio is calculated by dividing our total liabilities by total stockholders' equity at the end of each period. The amount of leverage will be a function of the capital allocated to the pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio and the amount of haircuts required by our lenders on our borrowings. When the capital allocation to the pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio is high, the leverage ratio will be high since more capital is being explicitly leveraged and less capital is un-leveraged. If the haircuts required by our lenders on our borrowings are higher, all else being equal, our leverage will be lower since our lenders will lend less against the value of the capital deployed to the pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio. The allocation of capital between the two portfolios will be a function of several factors:

	The relative durations of the respective portfolios — We generally seek to have a combined duration at or near zero. If our pass-through securities have a longer duration, we will allocate more capital to the structured security portfolio to achieve a combined duration close to zero.



The relative attractiveness of pass-through securities versus structured securities — To the extent we believe the expected returns of one type of security are higher than the other, we will allocate more capital to the more attractive securities, subject to the caveat that its combined duration remains at or near zero.



Liquidity — We seek to maintain adequate cash and unencumbered securities relative to our repurchase agreement borrowings to ensure we can meet any price or prepayment related margin calls from our lenders. To the extent we feel price or prepayment related margin calls will be higher/lower, we will allocate less/more capital to the pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio. Our pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio likely will be our only source of price or prepayment related margin calls because we generally will not apply leverage to our structured Agency RMBS portfolio. From time to time we may pledge a portion of our structured securities and retain the cash derived so it can be used to enhance our liquidity.

Risk Management

We invest in Agency RMBS to mitigate credit risk. Additionally, our Agency RMBS are backed by a diversified base of mortgage loans to mitigate geographic, loan originator and other types of concentration risks.

Interest Rate Risk Management

We believe that the risk of adverse interest rate movements represents the most significant risk to our portfolio. This risk arises because (i) the interest rate indices used to calculate the interest rates on the mortgages underlying our assets may be different from the interest rate indices used to calculate the interest rates on the related borrowings and (ii) interest rate movements affecting our borrowings may not be reasonably correlated with interest rate movements affecting our assets. We attempt to mitigate our interest rate risk by using the techniques described below:

Agency RMBS Backed by ARMs. We seek to minimize the differences between interest rate indices and interest rate adjustment periods of our Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and related borrowings. At the time of funding, we typically align (i) the underlying interest rate index used to calculate interest rates for our Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and the related borrowings and (ii) the interest rate adjustment periods for our Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and the interest rate adjustment periods for our related borrowings. As our borrowings mature or are renewed, we may adjust the index used to calculate interest expense, the duration of the reset periods and the maturities of our borrowings.

Agency RMBS Backed by Fixed-Rate Mortgages. As interest rates rise, our borrowing costs increase; however, the income on our Agency RMBS backed by fixed-rate mortgages remains unchanged. Subject to qualifying and maintaining a qualification as a REIT, we may seek to limit increases to our borrowing costs through the use of interest rate swap or cap agreements, options, put or call agreements, futures contracts, forward rate agreements or similar financial instruments to effectively convert our floating-rate borrowings into fixed-rate borrowings.

Agency RMBS Backed by Hybrid ARMs. During the fixed-rate period of our Agency RMBS backed by hybrid ARMs, the security is similar to Agency RMBS backed by fixed-rate mortgages. During this period, subject to qualifying and maintaining a qualification as a REIT, we may employ the same hedging strategy that we employ for our Agency RMBS backed by fixed-rate mortgages. Once our Agency RMBS backed by hybrid ARMs convert to floating rate securities, we may employ the same hedging strategy as we employ for our Agency RMBS backed by ARMs.

Derivative Instruments. We enter into derivative instruments to economically hedge against the possibility that rising rates may adversely impact our repurchase agreement liabilities.  The principal instruments that the Company has used to date are Eurodollar and Treasury Note ("T-Note") futures contracts and options to enter into interest rate swaps ("interest rate swaptions"), but may enter into other transactions in the future.

Interest rate swaptions provide us the option to enter into an interest rate swap agreement for a predetermined notional amount, stated term and pay and receive interest rates in the future. We may enter into swaption agreements that provide us the option to enter into a pay fixed rate interest rate swap ("payer swaption"),  or swaption agreements that provide us the option to enter into a receive fixed interest rate swap ("receiver swaptions").

Additionally, our structured Agency RMBS generally exhibit sensitivities to movements in interest rates different than our pass-through Agency RMBS. To the extent they do so, our structured Agency RMBS may protect us against declines in the market value of our combined portfolio that result from adverse interest rate movements, although we cannot assure you that this will be the case.

Prepayment Risk Management

The risk of mortgage prepayments is another significant risk to our portfolio. When prevailing interest rates fall below the coupon rate of a mortgage, mortgage prepayments are likely to increase. Conversely, when prevailing interest rates increase above the coupon rate of a mortgage, mortgage prepayments are likely to decrease.

When prepayment rates increase, we may not be able to reinvest the money received from prepayments at yields comparable to those of the securities prepaid. Also, some ARMs and hybrid ARMs which back our Agency RMBS may bear initial "teaser" interest rates that are lower than their fully-indexed interest rates. If these mortgages are prepaid during this "teaser" period, we may lose the opportunity to receive interest payments at the higher, fully-indexed rate over the expected life of the security. Additionally, some of our structured Agency RMBS, such as IOs and IIOs, may be negatively affected by an increase in prepayment rates because their value is wholly contingent on the underlying mortgage loans having an outstanding principal balance.

A decrease in prepayment rates may also have an adverse effect on our portfolio. For example, if we invest in POs, the purchase price of such securities will be based, in part, on an assumed level of prepayments on the underlying mortgage loan. Because the returns on POs decrease the longer it takes the principal payments on the underlying loans to be paid, a decrease in prepayment rates could decrease our returns on these securities.

Prepayment risk also affects our hedging activities. When an Agency RMBS backed by a fixed-rate mortgage or hybrid ARM is acquired with borrowings, we may cap or fix our borrowing costs for a period close to the anticipated average life of the fixed-rate portion of the related Agency RMBS. If prepayment rates are different than our projections, the term of the related hedging instrument may not match the fixed-rate portion of the security, which could cause us to incur losses.

Because our business may be adversely affected if prepayment rates are different than our projections, we seek to invest in Agency RMBS backed by mortgages with well-documented and predictable prepayment histories. To protect against increases in prepayment rates, we invest in Agency RMBS backed by mortgages that we believe are less likely to be prepaid. For example, we invest in Agency RMBS backed by mortgages (i) with loan balances low enough such that a borrower would likely have little incentive to refinance, (ii) extended to borrowers with credit histories weak enough to not be eligible to refinance their mortgage loans, (iii) that are newly originated fixed-rate or hybrid ARMs or (iv) that have interest rates low enough such that a borrower would likely have little incentive to refinance. To protect against decreases in prepayment rates, we may also invest in Agency RMBS backed by mortgages with characteristics opposite to those described above, which would typically be more likely to be refinanced. We may also invest in certain types of structured Agency RMBS as a means of mitigating our portfolio-wide prepayment risks. For example, certain tranches of CMOs are less sensitive to increases in prepayment rates, and we may invest in those tranches as a means of hedging against increases in prepayment rates.

Liquidity Management Strategy

Because of our use of leverage, we manage liquidity to meet our lenders' margin calls by maintaining cash balances or unencumbered assets well in excess of anticipated margin calls and making margin calls on our lenders when we have an excess of collateral pledged against our borrowings.

We also attempt to minimize the number of margin calls we receive by:

	Deploying capital from our leveraged Agency RMBS portfolio to our unleveraged Agency RMBS portfolio;



Investing in Agency RMBS backed by mortgages that we believe are less likely to be prepaid to decrease the risk of excessive margin calls when monthly prepayments are announced. Prepayments are declared, and the market value of the related security declines, before the receipt of the related cash flows. Prepayment declarations give rise to a temporary collateral deficiency and generally results in margin calls by lenders;

	Obtaining funding arrangements which defer or waive prepayment-related margin requirements in exchange for payments to the lender tied to the dollar amount of the collateral deficiency and a predetermined interest rate; and

	Reducing our overall amount of leverage.

To the extent we are unable to adequately manage our interest rate exposure and are subjected to substantial margin calls, we may be forced to sell assets at an inopportune time which in turn could impair our liquidity and reduce our borrowing capacity and book value.

Tax Structure

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S federal income tax purposes. Our qualification as a REIT, and the maintenance of such qualification, will depend upon our ability to meet, on a continuing basis, various complex requirements under the Code relating to, among other things, the sources of our gross income, the composition and values of our assets, our distribution levels and the concentration of ownership of our capital stock. We believe that we have been organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and we intend to continue to operate in a manner that will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT.

As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the REIT taxable income that we currently distribute to our stockholders.  Taxable income generated by any taxable REIT subsidiary ("TRS") that we may form or acquire will be subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax. Under the Code, REITs are subject to numerous organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that they distribute annually at least 90% of their REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gains. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any calendar year and do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, our income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax, and we would likely be precluded from qualifying for treatment as a REIT until the fifth calendar year following the year in which we failed to qualify. Even if we continue to qualify as a REIT, we may still be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets and to U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

Investment Company Act Exemption

We operate our business so that we are exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act. We rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, which applies to companies in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on, and interests in, real estate. In order to rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C), we must maintain at least 55% of our assets in qualifying real estate assets. For the purposes of this test, structured Agency RMBS are non-qualifying real estate assets. We monitor our portfolio periodically and prior to each investment to confirm that we continue to qualify for the exemption. To qualify for the exemption, we make investments so that at least 55% of the assets we own consist of qualifying mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate, which we refer to as qualifying real estate assets, and so that at least 80% of the assets we own consist of real estate-related assets, including our qualifying real estate assets.

We treat whole-pool pass-through Agency RMBS as qualifying real estate assets based on no-action letters issued by the staff of the SEC. In August 2011, the SEC, through a concept release, requested comments on interpretations of Section 3(c)(5)(C). To the extent that the SEC or its staff publishes new or different guidance with respect to these matters, we may fail to qualify for this exemption. Our Manager manages our pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio such that we have sufficient whole-pool pass-through Agency RMBS to ensure we maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act. At present, we generally do not expect that our investments in structured Agency RMBS will constitute qualifying real estate assets but will constitute real estate-related assets for purposes of the Investment Company Act.

Employees

We have no employees.  We are externally managed and advised by our Manager pursuant to a management agreement as discussed below.

Competition

Our net income largely depends on our ability to acquire Agency RMBS at favorable spreads over our borrowing costs.  When we invest in Agency RMBS and other investment assets, we compete with a variety of institutional investors, including other REITs, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, investment banking firms, banks and other financial institutions that invest in the same types of assets, the Federal Reserve Bank and other governmental entities or government-sponsored entities. Many of these investors have greater financial resources and access to lower costs of capital than we do. The existence of these competitive entities, as well as the possibility of additional entities forming in the future, may increase the competition for the acquisition of mortgage related securities, resulting in higher prices and lower yields on assets.

Distributions

To maintain a qualification as a REIT, we must distribute substantially all of our REIT taxable income (as defined in the Code) to our stockholders for each year.  We plan to continue to declare and pay regular monthly dividends to our stockholders.

Available Information

Our investor relations website is www.orchidislandcapital.com.  We make available on the website under "Financial Information/SEC filings," free of charge, our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and any other reports (including any amendments to such reports) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the SEC. Information on our website, however, is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  All reports filed with the SEC may also be read and copied at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Further information regarding the operation of the public reference room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.  In addition, all of our filed reports can be obtained at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

You should carefully consider the risks described below and all other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our annual consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto, before making an investment decision regarding our common stock. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed by any of these risks. Similarly, these risks could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and you might lose all or part of your investment. Our forward-looking statements in this annual report are subject to the following risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by our forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors below.

Risks Related to Our Business

Increases in interest rates may negatively affect the value of our investments and increase the cost of our borrowings, which could result in reduced earnings or losses and materially adversely affect our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Under a normal yield curve, an investment in Agency RMBS will decline in value if interest rates increase. In addition, net interest income could decrease if the yield curve becomes inverted or flat. While Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae guarantees the principal and interest payments related to the Agency RMBS we own, this guarantee does not protect us from declines in market value caused by changes in interest rates. Declines in the market value of our investments may ultimately result in losses to us, which may reduce earnings and negatively affect our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Significant increases in both long-term and short-term interest rates pose a substantial risk associated with our investment in Agency RMBS. If long-term rates were to increase significantly, the market value of our Agency RMBS would decline, and the duration and weighted average life of the investments would increase. We could realize a loss if the securities were sold. At the same time, an increase in short-term interest rates would increase the amount of interest owed on our repurchase agreements used to finance the purchase of Agency RMBS, which would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Using this business model, we are particularly susceptible to the effects of an inverted yield curve, where short-term rates are higher than long-term rates. Although rare in a historical context, many countries in Europe have experienced inverted yield curves in recent months. Given the volatile nature of the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve's recent increase and future increases in short-term interest rates, there can be no guarantee that the yield curve will not become and/or remain inverted. If this occurs, it could result in a decline in the value of our Agency RMBS, our business, financial position and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders could be materially adversely affected.

An increase in interest rates may also cause a decrease in the volume of newly issued, or investor demand for, Agency RMBS, which could materially adversely affect our ability to acquire assets that satisfy our investment objectives and our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Rising interest rates generally reduce the demand for consumer credit, including mortgage loans, due to the higher cost of borrowing. A reduction in the volume of mortgage loans may affect the volume of Agency RMBS available to us, which could affect our ability to acquire assets that satisfy our investment objectives. Rising interest rates may also cause Agency RMBS that were issued prior to an interest rate increase to provide yields that exceed prevailing market interest rates. If rising interest rates cause us to be unable to acquire a sufficient volume of Agency RMBS or Agency RMBS with a yield that exceeds our borrowing costs, our ability to satisfy our investment objectives and to generate income and pay dividends, our business, financial condition and results of operations, and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders may be materially adversely affected.

Interest rate mismatches between our Agency RMBS and our borrowings may reduce our net interest margin during periods of changing interest rates, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Our portfolio includes Agency RMBS backed by ARMs, hybrid ARMs and fixed-rate mortgages, and the mix of these securities in the portfolio may be increased or decreased over time. Additionally, the interest rates on ARMs and hybrid ARMs may vary over time based on changes in a short-term interest rate index, of which there are many.

We finance our acquisitions of pass-through Agency RMBS with short-term financing. During periods of rising short-term interest rates, the income we earn on these securities will not change (with respect to Agency RMBS backed by fixed-rate mortgage loans) or will not increase at the same rate (with respect to Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and hybrid ARMs) as our related financing costs, which may reduce our net interest margin or result in losses.

We invest in structured Agency RMBS, including CMOs, IOs, IIOs and POs. Although structured Agency RMBS are generally subject to the same risks as our pass-through Agency RMBS, certain types of risks may be enhanced depending on the type of structured Agency RMBS in which we invest.

The structured Agency RMBS in which we invest are securitizations (i) issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, (ii) collateralized by Agency RMBS and (iii) divided into various tranches that have different characteristics (such as different maturities or different coupon payments). These securities may carry greater risk than an investment in pass-through Agency RMBS. For example, certain types of structured Agency RMBS, such as IOs, IIOs and POs, are more sensitive to prepayment risks than pass-through Agency RMBS. If we were to invest in structured Agency RMBS that were more sensitive to prepayment risks relative to other types of structured Agency RMBS or pass-through Agency RMBS, we may increase our portfolio-wide prepayment risk.

We cannot predict the impact, if any, on our earnings or cash available for distributions to our stockholders of the proposed revisions of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") to Fannie Mae's, Freddie Mac's and Ginnie Mae's existing infrastructures to align the standards and practices of these entities.

On February 21, 2012, the FHFA released its Strategic Plan for Enterprise Conservatorships, which set forth three objectives for the next phase of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships:  (i) build a new infrastructure for the secondary mortgage market, (ii) gradually contract Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's presence in the marketplace while simplifying and shrinking their operations, and (iii) maintain foreclosure prevention activities and credit availability for new and refinanced mortgages.  On October 4, 2012, the FHFA released its white paper entitled Building a New Infrastructure for the Secondary Mortgage Market, which proposes a new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac infrastructure built around two principles.

First, replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's current infrastructures with a common infrastructure that efficiently aligns the standards and practices of the two entities, beginning with overlapping core functions such as issuance, master servicing, bond administration, collateral management and data integration.  The FHFA has taken steps to establish a common securitization platform ("CSP") for residential mortgage-backed securities reflecting feedback from a broad cross-section of industry participants.  In July 2016, the FHFA released an update on the CSP, detailing progress made in the development of a new infrastructure for the securitization of single-family mortgages by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Developing the CSP is a key goal of FHFA's 2014 Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which details the organizational structure of Common Securitization Solutions, LLC, a joint venture company that was established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lead the work on this project. In December 2016, the FHFA announced that Release 1 of the CSP was successfully implemented on November 21, 2016.  This means that Freddie Mac now uses the CSP for data acceptance, issuance support, and bond administration activities related to current single-class, fixed-rate, mortgage-backed securities.  The FHFA continues to review and plans to announce a timeframe for Release 2, which involves issuance by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae of a common, single mortgage-backed security, which will be known as the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security.  FHFA expects to announce a timeframe for implementation of Release 2 in the first quarter of 2017.   The second, establish an operating framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that is consistent with housing finance reform progress that encourages and accommodates increased participation of private capital in assuming credit risk associated with the secondary mortgage market.

The FHFA recognizes the challenges faced in these formative stages which may or may not be surmountable, such as the absence of meaningful secondary mortgage market mechanisms beyond Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.  As a result, it is uncertain if the proposals will be enacted, what exactly will be enacted, and how they will be enacted.  As a result, we cannot be certain what the effects of the enactment will have on our book value, earnings or cash available for distribution to stockholders.

Increased levels of prepayments on the mortgages underlying our Agency RMBS might decrease net interest income or result in a net loss, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

In the case of residential mortgages, there are seldom any restrictions on borrowers' ability to prepay their loans. Prepayment rates generally increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise. Prepayment rates also may be affected by other factors, including, without limitation, conditions in the housing and financial markets, governmental action, general economic conditions and the relative interest rates on ARMs, hybrid ARMs and fixed-rate mortgage loans. With respect to pass-through Agency RMBS, faster-than-expected prepayments could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders in various ways, including the following:



A portion of our pass-through Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and hybrid ARMs may initially bear interest at rates that are lower than their fully indexed rates, which are equivalent to the applicable index rate plus a margin. If a pass-through Agency RMBS backed by ARMs or hybrid ARMs is prepaid prior to or soon after the time of adjustment to a fully-indexed rate, we will have held that Agency RMBS while it was less profitable and lost the opportunity to receive interest at the fully-indexed rate over the remainder of its expected life.

	If we are unable to acquire new Agency RMBS to replace the prepaid Agency RMBS, our returns on capital may be lower than if we were able to quickly acquire new Agency RMBS.

When we acquire structured Agency RMBS, we anticipate that the underlying mortgages will prepay at a projected rate, generating an expected yield. When the prepayment rates on the mortgages underlying our structured Agency RMBS are higher than expected, our returns on those securities may be materially adversely affected. For example, the value of our IOs and IIOs are extremely sensitive to prepayments because holders of these securities do not have the right to receive any principal payments on the underlying mortgages. Therefore, if the mortgage loans underlying our IOs and IIOs are prepaid, such securities would cease to have any value, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

While we seek to minimize prepayment risk, we must balance prepayment risk against other risks and the potential returns of each investment. No strategy can completely insulate us from prepayment or other such risks.

A decrease in prepayment rates on the mortgages underlying our Agency RMBS might decrease net interest income or result in a net loss, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Certain of our structured Agency RMBS may be adversely affected by a decrease in prepayment rates. For example, because POs are similar to zero-coupon bonds, our expected returns on such securities will be contingent on our receiving the principal payments of the underlying mortgage loans at expected intervals that assume a certain prepayment rate. If prepayment rates are lower than expected, we will not receive principal payments as quickly as we anticipated and, therefore, our expected returns on these securities will be adversely affected, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

While we seek to minimize prepayment risk, we must balance prepayment risk against other risks and the potential returns of each investment. No strategy can completely insulate us from prepayment or other such risks.

Interest rate caps on the ARMs and hybrid ARMs backing our Agency RMBS may reduce our net interest margin during periods of rising interest rates, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

ARMs and hybrid ARMs are typically subject to periodic and lifetime interest rate caps. Periodic interest rate caps limit the amount an interest rate can increase during any given period. Lifetime interest rate caps limit the amount an interest rate can increase through the maturity of the loan. Our borrowings typically are not subject to similar restrictions. Accordingly, in a period of rapidly increasing interest rates, our financing costs could increase without limitation while caps could limit the interest we earn on the ARMs and hybrid ARMs backing our Agency RMBS. This problem is magnified for ARMs and hybrid ARMs that are not fully indexed because such periodic interest rate caps prevent the coupon on the security from fully reaching the specified rate in one reset. Further, some ARMs and hybrid ARMs may be subject to periodic payment caps that result in a portion of the interest being deferred and added to the principal outstanding. As a result, we may receive less cash income on Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and hybrid ARMs than necessary to pay interest on our related borrowings. Interest rate caps on Agency RMBS backed by ARMs and hybrid ARMs could reduce our net interest margin if interest rates were to increase beyond the level of the caps, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Failure to procure adequate repurchase agreement financing, or to renew or replace existing repurchase agreement financing as it matures, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

We intend to maintain master repurchase agreements with several counterparties. We cannot assure you that any, or sufficient, repurchase agreement financing will be available to us in the future on terms that are acceptable to us. Any decline in the value of Agency RMBS, or perceived market uncertainty about their value, would make it more difficult for us to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all, or maintain our compliance with the terms of any financing arrangements already in place. We may be unable to diversify the credit risk associated with our lenders. In the event that we cannot obtain sufficient funding on acceptable terms, our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders may be materially adversely effected.

Furthermore, because we intend to rely primarily on short-term borrowings to fund our acquisition of Agency RMBS, our ability to achieve our investment objective will depend not only on our ability to borrow money in sufficient amounts and on favorable terms, but also on our ability to renew or replace on a continuous basis our maturing short-term borrowings. If we are not able to renew or replace maturing borrowings, we will have to sell some or all of our assets, possibly under adverse market conditions. In addition, if the regulatory capital requirements imposed on our lenders change, they may be required to significantly increase the cost of the financing that they provide to us. Our lenders also may revise their eligibility requirements for the types of assets they are willing to finance or the terms of such financings, based on, among other factors, the regulatory environment and their management of perceived risk.

Adverse market developments could cause our lenders to require us to pledge additional assets as collateral. If our assets were insufficient to meet these collateral requirements, we might be compelled to liquidate particular assets at inopportune times and at unfavorable prices, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Adverse market developments, including a sharp or prolonged rise in interest rates, a change in prepayment rates or increasing market concern about the value or liquidity of one or more types of Agency RMBS, might reduce the market value of our portfolio, which might cause our lenders to initiate margin calls. A margin call means that the lender requires us to pledge additional collateral to re-establish the ratio of the value of the collateral to the amount of the borrowing. The specific collateral value to borrowing ratio that would trigger a margin call is not set in the master repurchase agreements and not determined until we engage in a repurchase transaction under these agreements. Our fixed-rate Agency RMBS generally are more susceptible to margin calls as increases in interest rates tend to more negatively affect the market value of fixed-rate securities. If we are unable to satisfy margin calls, our lenders may foreclose on our collateral. The threat or occurrence of a margin call could force us to sell either directly or through a foreclosure our Agency RMBS under adverse market conditions. Because of the significant leverage we expect to have, we may incur substantial losses upon the threat or occurrence of a margin call, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. Additionally, the liquidation of collateral may jeopardize our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT, as we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of gross income. Our failure to maintain our qualification as a REIT would cause us to be subject to U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local taxes) on all of our net taxable income.

Hedging against interest rate exposure may not completely insulate us from interest rate risk and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

To the extent consistent with maintaining our qualification as a REIT, we may enter into interest rate cap or swap agreements or pursue other hedging strategies, including the purchase of puts, calls or other options and futures contracts in order to hedge the interest rate risk of our portfolio. In general, our hedging strategy depends on our view of our entire portfolio consisting of assets, liabilities and derivative instruments, in light of prevailing market conditions. We could misjudge the condition of our investment portfolio or the market. Our hedging activity will vary in scope based on the level and volatility of interest rates and principal prepayments, the type of Agency RMBS we hold and other changing market conditions. Hedging may fail to protect or could adversely affect us because, among other things:

	hedging can be expensive, particularly during periods of rising and volatile interest rates;

	available interest rate hedging may not correspond directly with the interest rate risk for which protection is sought;

	the duration of the hedge may not match the duration of the related liability;

	certain types of hedges may expose us to risk of loss beyond the fee paid to initiate the hedge;

	the amount of gross income that a REIT may earn from hedging transactions, other than hedging transactions that satisfy certain requirements of the Code, is limited by federal income tax provisions governing REITs;

	the credit quality of the counterparty on the hedge may be downgraded to such an extent that it impairs our ability to sell or assign our side of the hedging transaction; and

	the counterparty in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay.

There are no perfect hedging strategies, and interest rate hedging may fail to protect us from loss. Alternatively, we may fail to properly assess a risk to our investment portfolio or may fail to recognize a risk entirely, leaving us exposed to losses without the benefit of any offsetting hedging activities. The derivative financial instruments we select may not have the effect of reducing our interest rate risk. The nature and timing of hedging transactions may influence the effectiveness of these strategies. Poorly designed strategies or improperly executed transactions could actually increase our risk and losses. In addition, hedging activities could result in losses if the event against which we hedge does not occur.

Because of the foregoing risks, our hedging activity could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Our use of certain hedging techniques may expose us to counterparty risks.

To the extent that our hedging instruments are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearinghouse, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities, there may not be requirements with respect to record keeping, financial responsibility or segregation of customer funds and positions. Furthermore, the enforceability of agreements underlying hedging transactions may depend on compliance with applicable statutory and commodity and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the domicile of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. Consequently, if any of these issues causes a counterparty to fail to perform under a derivative agreement we could incur a significant loss.

For example, if a swap counterparty under an interest rate swap agreement that we enter into as part of our hedging strategy cannot perform under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we may not receive payments due under that agreement, and, thus, we may lose any potential benefit associated with the interest rate swap. Additionally, we may also risk the loss of any collateral we have pledged to secure our obligations under these swap agreements if the counterparty becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy. Similarly, if an interest rate swaption counterparty fails to perform under the terms of the interest rate swaption agreement, in addition to not being able to exercise or otherwise cash settle the agreement, we could also incur a loss for the premium paid for that swaption.

We rely on analytical models and other data to analyze potential asset acquisition and disposition opportunities and to manage our portfolio. Such models and other data may be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, which could cause us to purchase assets that do not meet our expectations or to make asset management decisions that are not in line with our strategy.

We rely on analytical models, and information and other data supplied by third parties. These models and data may be used to value assets or potential asset acquisitions and dispositions and in connection with our asset management activities. If our models and data prove to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon could expose us to potential risks.

Our reliance on models and data may induce us to purchase certain assets at prices that are too high, to sell certain other assets at prices that are too low or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging activities that are based on faulty models and data may prove to be unsuccessful.

Some models, such as prepayment models, may be predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses. In addition, the predictive models used by us may differ substantially from those models used by other market participants, resulting in valuations based on these predictive models that may be substantially higher or lower for certain assets than actual market prices. Furthermore, because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data, and, in the case of predicting performance in scenarios with little or no historical precedent (such as extreme broad-based declines in home prices, or deep economic recessions or depressions), such models must employ greater degrees of extrapolation and are therefore more speculative and less reliable.

All valuation models rely on correct market data input. If incorrect market data is entered into even a well-founded valuation model, the resulting valuations will be incorrect. However, even if market data is inputted correctly, "model prices" will often differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics or whose values are particularly sensitive to various factors. If our market data inputs are incorrect or our model prices differ substantially from market prices, our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders could be materially adversely affected.

Valuations of some of our assets are inherently uncertain, may be based on estimates, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may differ from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these assets existed. As a result, the values of some of our assets are uncertain.

While in many cases our determination of the fair value of our assets is based on valuations provided by third-party dealers and pricing services, we can and do value assets based upon our judgment, and such valuations may differ from those provided by third-party dealers and pricing services. Valuations of certain assets are often difficult to obtain or are unreliable. In general, dealers and pricing services heavily disclaim their valuations. Additionally, dealers may claim to furnish valuations only as an accommodation and without special compensation, and so they may disclaim any and all liability for any direct, incidental or consequential damages arising out of any inaccuracy or incompleteness in valuations, including any act of negligence or breach of any warranty. Depending on the complexity and illiquidity of an asset, valuations of the same asset can vary substantially from one dealer or pricing service to another. The valuation process during times of market distress can be particularly difficult and unpredictable and during such time the disparity of valuations provided by third-party dealers can widen.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders could be materially adversely affected if our fair value determinations of these assets were materially higher than the values that would exist if a ready market existed for these assets.

Because the assets that we acquire might experience periods of illiquidity, we might be prevented from selling our Agency RMBS at favorable times and prices, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Agency RMBS might experience periods of illiquidity. Such conditions are more likely to occur for structured Agency RMBS because such securities are generally traded in markets much less liquid than the pass-through Agency RMBS market. As a result, we may be unable to dispose of our Agency RMBS at advantageous times and prices or in a timely manner. The lack of liquidity might result from the absence of a willing buyer or an established market for these assets as well as legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The illiquidity of Agency RMBS could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Our use of leverage could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

We calculate our leverage ratio by dividing our total liabilities by total equity at the end of each period.  Under normal market conditions, we generally expect our leverage ratio to be less than 12 to 1, although at times our borrowings may be above or below this level. We incur this indebtedness by borrowing against a substantial portion of the market value of our pass-through Agency RMBS and a portion of our structured Agency RMBS. Our total indebtedness, however, is not expressly limited by our policies and will depend on our prospective lenders' estimates of the stability of our portfolio's cash flow. As a result, there is no limit on the amount of leverage that we may incur. We face the risk that we might not be able to meet our debt service obligations or a lender's margin requirements from our income and, to the extent we cannot, we might be forced to liquidate some of our Agency RMBS at unfavorable prices. Our use of leverage could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. For example:



our borrowings are secured by our pass-through Agency RMBS and a portion of our structured Agency RMBS under repurchase agreements. A decline in the market value of the pass-through Agency RMBS or structured Agency RMBS used to secure these debt obligations could limit our ability to borrow or result in lenders requiring us to pledge additional collateral to secure our borrowings. In that situation, we could be required to sell Agency RMBS under adverse market conditions in order to obtain the additional collateral required by the lender. If these sales are made at prices lower than the carrying value of the Agency RMBS, we would experience losses.



to the extent we are compelled to liquidate qualifying real estate assets to repay debts, our compliance with the REIT rules regarding our assets and our sources of gross income could be negatively affected, which could jeopardize our qualification as a REIT. Losing our REIT qualification would cause us to be subject to U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local taxes) on all of our income and would decrease profitability and cash available for distributions to stockholders.

If we experience losses as a result of our use of leverage, such losses could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our use of repurchase agreements may give our lenders greater rights in the event that either we or any of our lenders file for bankruptcy, which may make it difficult for us to recover our collateral in the event of a bankruptcy filing.

Our borrowings under repurchase agreements may qualify for special treatment under the bankruptcy code, giving our lenders the ability to avoid the automatic stay provisions of the bankruptcy code and to take possession of and liquidate our collateral under the repurchase agreements without delay if we file for bankruptcy. Furthermore, the special treatment of repurchase agreements under the bankruptcy code may make it difficult for us to recover our pledged assets in the event that any of our lenders files for bankruptcy. Thus, the use of repurchase agreements exposes our pledged assets to risk in the event of a bankruptcy filing by either our lenders or us. In addition, if the lender is a broker or dealer subject to the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, or an insured depository institution subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, our ability to exercise our rights to recover our investment under a repurchase agreement or to be compensated for any damages resulting from the lender's insolvency may be further limited by those statutes.

If we fail to maintain our relationship with AVM, L.P. or if we do not establish relationships with other repurchase agreement trading, clearing and administrative service providers, our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders could be materially adversely affected.

We have engaged AVM, L.P. to provide us with certain repurchase agreement trading, clearing and administrative services. If we are unable to maintain our relationship with AVM, L.P. or we are unable to establish successful relationships with other repurchase agreement trading, clearing and administrative service providers, our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders could be materially adversely affected.

If our lenders default on their obligations to resell the Agency RMBS back to us at the end of the repurchase transaction term, or if the value of the Agency RMBS has declined by the end of the repurchase transaction term or if we default on our obligations under the repurchase transaction, we will lose money on these transactions, which, in turn, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

When we engage in a repurchase transaction, we initially sell securities to the financial institution under one of our master repurchase agreements in exchange for cash, and our counterparty is obligated to resell the securities to us at the end of the term of the transaction, which is typically from 24 to 90 days but may be up to 364 days or more. The cash we receive when we initially sell the securities is less than the value of those securities, which is referred to as the haircut. Many financial institutions from which we may obtain repurchase agreement financing have increased their haircuts in the past and may do so again in the future. If these haircuts are increased, we will be required to post additional cash or securities as collateral for our Agency RMBS. If our counterparty defaults on its obligation to resell the securities to us, we would incur a loss on the transaction equal to the amount of the haircut (assuming there was no change in the value of the securities). We would also lose money on a repurchase transaction if the value of the underlying securities had declined as of the end of the transaction term, as we would have to repurchase the securities for their initial value but would receive securities worth less than that amount. Any losses we incur on our repurchase transactions could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

If we default on one of our obligations under a repurchase transaction, the counterparty can terminate the transaction and cease entering into any other repurchase transactions with us. In that case, we would likely need to establish a replacement repurchase facility with another financial institution in order to continue to leverage our portfolio and carry out our investment strategy. There is no assurance we would be able to establish a suitable replacement facility on acceptable terms or at all.

Clearing facilities or exchanges upon which some of our hedging instruments are traded may increase margin requirements on our hedging instruments in the event of adverse economic developments.

In response to events having or expected to have adverse economic consequences or which create market uncertainty, clearing facilities or exchanges upon which some of our hedging instruments, such as Eurodollar futures contracts and interest rate swaps, are traded may require us to post additional collateral against our hedging instruments. In the event that future adverse economic developments or market uncertainty result in increased margin requirements for our hedging instruments, it could materially adversely affect our liquidity position, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives will depend on our ability to manage future growth effectively.

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives will depend on our ability to grow, which will depend, in turn, on our Manager's ability to identify and invest in securities that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis largely will be a function of our Manager's structuring and implementation of the investment process, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us and our access to financing on acceptable terms. Our Manager has substantial responsibilities, and, in order to grow, needs to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees successfully. Any failure to manage our future growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

We may change our investment strategy, investment guidelines and asset allocation without notice or stockholder consent, which may result in riskier investments. In addition, our charter provides that our Board of Directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to change our investment strategy or asset allocation at any time without notice to or consent from our stockholders. To the extent that our investment strategy changes in the future, we may make investments that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the investments described in this annual report. A change in our investment strategy may increase our exposure to interest rate and real estate market fluctuations. Furthermore, a change in our asset allocation could result in our allocating assets in a different manner than as described in this annual report.

In addition, our charter provides that our Board of Directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to qualify as a REIT. These changes could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, the market value of our common stock and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Competition might prevent us from acquiring Agency RMBS at favorable yields, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities. Our net income largely depends on our ability to acquire Agency RMBS at favorable spreads over our borrowing costs. In acquiring Agency RMBS, we compete with a variety of institutional investors, including other REITs, investment banking firms, savings and loan associations, banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, other lenders, other entities that purchase Agency RMBS, the Federal Reserve, other governmental entities and government-sponsored entities, many of which have 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, such as funding from the U.S. Government. Additionally, many of our competitors are not subject to REIT tax compliance or required to maintain an exemption from the Investment Company Act. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments. Furthermore, competition for investments in Agency RMBS may lead the price of such investments to increase, which may further limit our ability to generate desired returns. As a result, we may not be able to acquire sufficient Agency RMBS at favorable spreads over our borrowing costs, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

We are an "emerging growth company," and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and as such, we are not required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and we are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Although we are an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, we have elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, and such election is irrevocable. We cannot predict if investors will find our shares of common stock less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find our shares of common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our shares and our share price may be more volatile.

Our obligation to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will increase.

As long as we remain an emerging growth company, as that term is defined in the JOBS Act, we will be permitted to gradually comply with certain of the on-going reporting and disclosure obligations of public companies pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our ordinary shares less attractive to investors.

Management is required to deliver a report that assesses the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may require our auditors to deliver an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in conjunction with their opinion on our audited financial statements in future years. Substantial work on our part is required to implement appropriate processes, document the system of internal control over key processes, assess their design, remediate any deficiencies identified and test their operation. This process is expected to be both costly and challenging. We cannot give any assurances that material weaknesses will not be identified in the future in connection with our compliance with the provisions of Section 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The existence of any material weakness described above would preclude a conclusion by management and our independent auditors that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting. Our management may be required to devote significant time and expense to remediate any material weaknesses that may be discovered and may not be able to remediate any material weakness in a timely manner. The existence of any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting could also result in errors in our financial statements that could require us to restate our financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, all of which could lead to a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

We are highly dependent on communications and information systems operated by third parties, and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Our business is highly dependent on communications and information systems that allow us to monitor, value, buy, sell, finance and hedge our investments. These systems are operated by third parties and, as a result, we have limited ability to ensure their continued operation. In the event of a systems failure or interruption, we will have limited ability to affect the timing and success of systems restoration. Any failure or interruption of our systems could cause delays or other problems in our securities trading activities, including Agency RMBS trading activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

If we issue debt securities, our operations may be restricted and we will be exposed to additional risk.

If we decide to issue debt securities in the future, it is likely that such securities will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock. We, and indirectly our stockholders, will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities. Holders of debt securities may be granted specific rights, including but not limited to, the right to hold a perfected security interest in certain of our assets, the right to accelerate payments due under the indenture, rights to restrict dividend payments, and rights to approve the sale of assets. Such additional restrictive covenants and operating restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

No assurance can be given that the actions taken by a new administration of the U.S. Government for the purpose of seeking to stimulate the economy will achieve their intended effect or will benefit our business, and further, government or market developments could adversely affect us.

The incoming presidential administration of the U.S. Government has announced that it may implement initiatives intended to stimulate the U.S. economy. No assurance can be given that these initiatives will beneficially impact the economy or our business. If these initiatives do not function as intended or interest rates increase as a result of these initiatives, the pricing, supply, liquidity and value of our assets and the availability of financing on attractive terms may be materially adversely affected.

Adoption of the Basel III standards and other proposed supplementary regulatory standards may negatively impact our access to financing or affect the terms of our future financing arrangements.

In response to various financial crises and the volatility of financial markets, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, an international body comprised of senior representatives of bank supervisory authorities and central banks from 27 countries, including the United States, adopted the Basel III standards several years ago. The final package of Basel III reforms was approved by the G20 leaders in November 2010. In January 2013, the Basel Committee agreed to delay implementation of the Basel III standards and expanded the scope of assets permitted to be included in a bank's liquidity measurement. In 2014, the Basel Committee announced that it would propose additional changes to capital requirements for banks over the next few years. U.S. regulators have elected to implement substantially all of the Basel III standards. These new standards, including the Supplementary Leverage Ratio imposed by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which will be fully phased in by 2019, will require banks to hold more capital, predominantly in the form of common equity, than under the current capital framework. These increased bank capital requirements may constrain our ability to obtain attractive future financings and increase the cost of such financings if they are obtained.

In April 2014, U.S. regulators adopted rules requiring enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards beginning in January 2018, which would impose capital requirements more stringent than those of the Basel III standards for the most systematically significant banking organizations in the U.S. Adoption and implementation of the Basel III standards and the supplemental regulatory standards adopted by U.S. regulators may negatively impact our access to financing or affect the terms of our future financing arrangements.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory changes that could reduce the market price of our common stock.

At any time, laws or regulations, or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations, which impact our business and Maryland corporations may be amended. In addition, the markets for RMBS and derivatives, including interest rate swaps, have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. We cannot predict when or if any new law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted or promulgated or will become effective. Additionally, revisions to these laws, regulations or administrative interpretations could cause us to change our investments. We could be materially adversely affected by any such change to any existing, or any new, law, regulation or administrative interpretation, which could reduce the market price of our common stock.

Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest in Our Relationship with Our Manager and Bimini

We are completely dependent upon our Manager and certain key personnel of Bimini who provide services to us through the management agreement, and we may not find suitable replacements for our Manager and these personnel if the management agreement is terminated or such key personnel are no longer available to us.

There are conflicts of interest in our relationships with our Manager and Bimini, which could result in decisions that are not in the best interests of our stockholders.

Our Manager's management fee is payable regardless of our performance.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Investing in our common stock may involve a high degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objectives may result in a high amount of risk when compared to alternative investment options and volatility or loss of principal. Our investments may be highly speculative and aggressive, and therefore an investment in our common stock may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.

There may not be an active market for our common stock, which may cause our common stock to trade at a discount and make it difficult to sell the common stock you purchase.

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "ORC." Trading on the NYSE does not ensure that there is or will be an actual market for our common stock. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to:

	the likelihood that an actual market for our common stock will develop, or be continued once developed;

	the liquidity of any such market;

	the ability of any holder to sell shares of our common stock; or

	the prices that may be obtained for our common stock.

We have not established a minimum distribution payment level, and we cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future.

We intend to continue to make monthly distributions to our stockholders in amounts such that we distribute all or substantially all of our REIT taxable income in each year, subject to certain adjustments. We have not established a minimum distribution payment level, and our ability to make distributions might be harmed by the risk factors described in this prospectus. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintaining our qualification as a REIT and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future. To the extent that we decide to pay distributions from the proceeds of a securities offerings, such distributions would generally be considered a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A return of capital reduces the basis of a stockholder's investment in our common stock to the extent of such basis and is treated as capital gain thereafter.

Future offerings of debt securities, which would be senior to our common stock upon liquidation, or equity securities, which would dilute our existing stockholders and may be senior to our common stock for the purposes of distributions, may harm the value of our common stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making additional offerings of debt or equity securities, including commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior or subordinated notes and classes of preferred stock or common stock, as well as warrants to purchase shares of common stock or convertible preferred stock. Upon the liquidation of the Company, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock and lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive a distribution of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings by us may dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders or reduce the market value of our common stock, or both. Our preferred stock, if issued, would have a preference on distributions that could limit our ability to make distributions to the holders of our common stock. Furthermore, our Board of Directors may, without stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase the aggregate number of our shares or the number of shares of any class or series that we have the authority to issue, and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Our stockholders are therefore subject to the risk of our future securities offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their common stock.

The market value of our common stock may be volatile.

The market value of shares of our common stock may be based primarily upon current and expected future cash dividends and our book value. The market price of shares of our common stock may be influenced by the dividends on those shares relative to market interest rates. Rising interest rates may lead potential buyers of our common stock to expect a higher dividend rate, which could adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock. In addition, our book value could decrease, which could reduce the market price of our common stock to the extent our common stock trades relative to our book value. As a result, the market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide price fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. Some of the factors that could negatively affect the share price or trading volume of our common stock include:

	actual or anticipated variations in our operating results or distributions;

	changes in our earnings estimates or publication of research reports about us or the real estate or specialty finance industry;

	increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of our common stock to expect a higher dividend yield;

	changes in our book value;

	changes in market valuations of similar companies;

	adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future;

	a change in our Manager or additions or departures of key management personnel;

	actions by institutional stockholders;

	speculation in the press or investment community; and

	general market and economic conditions.

We cannot make any assurances that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future.

Shares of our common stock eligible for future sale may harm our share price.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of shares of our common stock, or the availability of shares for future sales, on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of these shares of our common stock, or the perception that these sales could occur, may harm prevailing market prices for our common stock. The 2012 Equity Incentive Plan provides for grants of up to an aggregate of 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (on a fully diluted basis) at the time of the award, subject to a maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan of 4,000,000 shares of common stock. As of February 17, 2017, Bimini owns 1,395,036 shares of our common stock. If Bimini sells a large number of our securities in the public market, the sale could reduce the market price of our common stock and could impede our ability to raise future capital.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Loss of our exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act would negatively affect the value of shares of our common stock and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

We have operated and intend to continue to operate our business so as to be exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act, because we are "primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate." Specifically, we invest and intend to continue to invest so that at least 55% of the assets that we own on an unconsolidated basis consist of qualifying mortgages and other liens and interests in real estate, which are collectively referred to as "qualifying real estate assets," and so that at least 80% of the assets we own on an unconsolidated basis consist of real estate-related assets (including our qualifying real estate assets). We treat Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae whole-pool residential mortgage pass-through securities issued with respect to an underlying pool of mortgage loans in which we hold all of the certificates issued by the pool as qualifying real estate assets based on no-action letters issued by the SEC. To the extent that the SEC publishes new or different guidance with respect to these matters, we may fail to qualify for this exemption.

If we fail to qualify for this exemption, we could be required to restructure our activities in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so, which could negatively affect the value of shares of our common stock and our ability to distribute dividends. For example, if the market value of our investments in CMOs or structured Agency RMBS, neither of which are qualifying real estate assets for Investment Company Act purposes, were to increase by an amount that resulted in less than 55% of our assets being invested in pass-through Agency RMBS, we might have to sell CMOs or structured Agency RMBS in order to maintain our exemption from the Investment Company Act. The sale could occur during adverse market conditions, and we could be forced to accept a price below that which we believe is acceptable.

Alternatively, if we fail to qualify for this exemption, we may have to register under the Investment Company Act and we could become subject to substantial regulation with respect to our capital structure (including our 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, and other matters.

We may be required at times to adopt less efficient methods of financing certain of our securities, and we may be precluded from acquiring certain types of higher yielding securities. The net effect of these factors would be to lower our net interest income. If we fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company or an exclusion from the definition of an investment company, our ability to use leverage would be substantially reduced, and we would not be able to conduct our business as described in this prospectus. Our business will be materially and adversely affected if we fail to qualify for and maintain an exemption from regulation pursuant to the Investment Company Act.

Failure to obtain and maintain an exemption from being regulated as a commodity pool operator could subject us to additional regulation and compliance requirements and may result in fines and other penalties which could materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The Dodd-Frank Act established a comprehensive new regulatory framework for derivative contracts commonly referred to as "swaps." As a result, any investment fund that trades in swaps may be considered a "commodity pool," which would cause its operators (in some cases the fund's directors) to be regulated as "commodity pool operators" ("CPOs"). Under new rules adopted by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC"), those funds that become commodity pools solely because of their use of swaps must register with the National Futures Association (the "NFA"). Registration requires compliance with the CFTC's regulations and the NFA's rules with respect to capital raising, disclosure, reporting, recordkeeping and other business conduct. However, the CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight recently issued a no-action letter saying, although it believes that mortgage REITs are properly considered commodity pools, it would not recommend that the CFTC take enforcement action against the operator of a mortgage REIT who does not register as a CPO if, among other things, the mortgage REIT limits the initial margin and premiums required to establish its swaps, futures and other commodity interest positions to not more than five percent (5%) of its total assets, the mortgage REIT limits the net income derived annually from those commodity interest positions which are not qualifying hedging transactions to less than five percent (5%) of its gross income and interests in the mortgage REIT are not marketed to the public as or in a commodity pool or otherwise as or in a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps markets.

We use hedging instruments in conjunction with our investment portfolio and related borrowings to reduce or mitigate risks associated with changes in interest rates, mortgage spreads, yield curve shapes and market volatility. These hedging instruments may include interest rate swaps, interest rate futures and options on interest rate futures. We do not currently engage in any speculative derivatives activities or other non-hedging transactions using swaps, futures or options on futures. We do not use these instruments for the purpose of trading in commodity interests, and we do not consider the Company or its operations to be a commodity pool as to which CPO registration or compliance is required. We have claimed the relief afforded by the above-described no-action letter. Consequently, we will be restricted to operating within the parameters discussed in the no-action letter and will not enter into hedging transactions covered by the no-action letter if they would cause us to exceed the limits set forth in the no-action letter. However, there can be no assurance that the CFTC will agree that we are entitled to the no-action letter relief claimed.

The CFTC has substantial enforcement power with respect to violations of the laws over which it has jurisdiction, including their anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions. For example, the CFTC may suspend or revoke the registration of or the no-action relief afforded to a person who fails to comply with commodities laws and regulations, prohibit such a person from trading or doing business with registered entities, impose civil money penalties, require restitution and seek fines or imprisonment for criminal violations. In the event that the CFTC asserts that we are not entitled to the no-action letter relief claimed, we may be obligated to furnish additional disclosures and reports, among other things. Further, a private right of action exists against those who violate the laws over which the CFTC has jurisdiction or who willfully aid, abet, counsel, induce or procure a violation of those laws. In the event that we fail to comply with statutory requirements relating to derivatives or with the CFTC's rules thereunder, including the no-action letter described above, we may be subject to significant fines, penalties and other civil or governmental actions or proceedings, any of which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Our ownership limitations and certain other provisions of applicable law and our charter and bylaws may restrict business combination opportunities that would otherwise be favorable to our stockholders.

Our charter and bylaws and Maryland law contain provisions that may delay, defer or prevent a change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders, including business combination provisions, supermajority vote and cause requirements for removal of directors, provisions that vacancies on our Board of Directors may be filled only by the remaining directors, for the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred, the power of our Board of Directors to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of any class or series of stock, to cause us to issue additional shares of stock of any class or series and to fix the terms of one or more classes or series of stock without stockholder approval, the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock and advance notice requirements for director nominations and stockholder proposals.

To assist us in qualifying as a REIT, among other purposes, ownership of our stock by any person will generally be limited to 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of any class or series of our stock. Additionally, our charter will prohibit beneficial or constructive ownership of our stock that would otherwise result in our failure to qualify as a REIT. The ownership rules in our charter are complex and may cause the outstanding stock owned by a group of related individuals or entities to be deemed to be owned by one individual or entity. As a result, these ownership rules could cause an individual or entity to unintentionally own shares beneficially or constructively in excess of our ownership limits. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our common stock or preferred stock in excess of our ownership limits without the consent of our Board of Directors will result in such shares being transferred to a charitable trust. These provisions may inhibit market activity and the resulting opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their stock that might otherwise exist if any person were to attempt to assemble a block of shares of our stock in excess of the number of shares permitted under our charter and that may be in the best interests of our security holders.

Our Board of Directors may, without stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of our shares or the number of shares of any class or series that we have the authority to issue and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock, and set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our Board of Directors may take actions with respect to our common stock or preferred stock that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, including transactions at a premium over the market price of our shares, even if stockholders believe that a change in control is in their interest. These provisions, along with the restrictions on ownership and transfer contained in our charter and certain provisions of Maryland law described below, could discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of us, which could adversely affect the market price of our securities.

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited, which could limit your recourse in the event of actions not in your best interests.

Our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

	actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services; or

	a final judgment based upon a finding of active and deliberate dishonesty by the director or officer that was material to the cause of action adjudicated.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that obligate us to indemnify them to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. In addition, our charter authorizes the Company to obligate itself to indemnify our present and former directors and officers for actions taken by them in those and other capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Our bylaws require us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify each present and former director or officer in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service to us. In addition, we may be obligated to advance the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist absent the provisions in our charter, bylaws and indemnification agreements or that might exist with other companies.

Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit changes in control.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (the "MGCL"), may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide our stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of our common stock, including:



"business combination" provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between us and an "interested stockholder" (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock or an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period immediately prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of our then-outstanding stock) or an affiliate of an interested stockholder for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder, and thereafter require two supermajority stockholder votes to approve any such combination; and



"control share" provisions that provide that a holder of "control shares" of the Company (defined as voting shares of stock which, when aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), entitle the acquiror to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a "control share acquisition" (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of issued and outstanding "control shares," subject to certain exceptions) generally has no voting rights with respect to the control shares except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares.

We have elected to opt-out of these provisions of the MGCL, in the case of the business combination provisions, by resolution of our Board of Directors (provided that such business combination is first approved by our Board of Directors, including a majority of our directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person), and in the case of the control share provisions, pursuant to a provision in our bylaws. However, our Board of Directors may by resolution elect to repeal the foregoing opt-out from the business combination provisions of the MGCL, and we may, by amendment to our bylaws, opt-in to the control share provisions of the MGCL in the future.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Risks

Your investment has various U.S. federal income tax risks.

This summary of certain tax risks is limited to the federal tax risks addressed below. Additional risks or issues may exist that are not addressed in this Form 10-K and that could affect the federal tax treatment of us or our stockholders.  This is not intended to be used and cannot be used by any stockholder to avoid penalties that may be imposed on stockholders under the Code. We strongly urge you to seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor concerning the effects of federal, state and local income tax law on an investment in common stock and on your individual tax situation.

Our failure to maintain our qualification as a REIT would subject us to U.S. federal income tax, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of our common stock and would substantially reduce the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We believe that commencing with our short taxable year ended December 31, 2013, we have been organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code, and we intend to operate in a manner that will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT.  However, we cannot assure you that we will remain qualified as a REIT.  Moreover, our qualification and taxation as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual annual operating results, certain qualification tests set forth in the U.S. federal tax laws. Accordingly, given the complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, including the potential tax treatment of investments we make, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that our actual results of operations for any particular taxable year will satisfy such requirements.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any calendar year, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local tax), including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and dividends paid to our stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Further, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we might need to borrow money or sell assets in order to pay any resulting tax. Our payment of income tax would decrease the amount of our income available for distribution to our stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we no longer would be required under U.S. federal tax laws to distribute substantially all of our REIT taxable income to our stockholders. Unless our failure to qualify as a REIT was subject to relief under U.S. federal tax laws, we could not re-elect to qualify as a REIT until the fifth calendar year following the year in which we failed to qualify.

If Bimini failed to qualify as a REIT in its 2009 through 2013 taxable years, we would be prevented from electing to qualify as a REIT under applicable Treasury Regulations.

We were formed by Bimini in August 2010. We believe that from the time of our formation until the closing of the public offering of our common stock, we were a "qualified REIT subsidiary" of Bimini. However, under applicable Treasury Regulations, if Bimini failed to qualify as a REIT in its 2009 through 2013 taxable years, unless Bimini's failure to qualify as a REIT was subject to relief under U.S. federal tax laws, we would be prevented from electing to qualify as a REIT prior to the fifth calendar year following the year in which Bimini failed to qualify.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego or liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

To qualify as a REIT, we must continually satisfy various tests regarding the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. In order to meet these tests, we may be required to forego investments we might otherwise make. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our investment performance.

In particular, we must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our total assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified REIT real estate assets, including Agency RMBS. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our total assets (other than government securities, TRS securities, and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, no more than 25% (20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs and no more that 25% of the value of our assets can be represented by debt of "publicly offered REITs" that is not secured by real property or interests in real property. Generally, if we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and becoming subject to U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local taxes) on all of our income. As a result, we may be required to liquidate from our portfolio otherwise attractive investments or contribute such investments to a TRS. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Failure to make required distributions would subject us to tax, which would reduce the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute to our stockholders each calendar year at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (including certain items of non-cash income), determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed income. In addition, we will incur a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which our distributions in any calendar year are less than the sum of:

	85% of our REIT ordinary income for that year;

	95% of our REIT capital gain net income for that year; and

	any undistributed taxable income from prior years

We intend to distribute our REIT taxable income to our stockholders in a manner intended to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid both corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax.

Our taxable income may be substantially different than our net income as determined based on generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), because, for example, realized capital losses will be deducted in determining our GAAP net income, but may not be deductible in computing our taxable income. In addition, unrealized portfolio gains and losses are included in GAAP net income, but are not included in REIT taxable income.  Also, we may invest in assets that generate taxable income in excess of economic income or in advance of the corresponding cash flow from the assets. As a result of the foregoing, we may generate less cash flow than taxable income in a particular year. To the extent that we generate such non-cash taxable income in a taxable year, we may incur corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax on that income if we do not distribute such income to stockholders in that year. In that event, we may be required to use cash reserves, incur debt, sell assets, make taxable distributions of our stock or debt securities or liquidate non-cash assets at rates or at times that we regard as unfavorable to satisfy the distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax in that year.

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

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, property and transfer taxes. In addition, any TRSs we form will be subject to regular corporate U.S. federal, state and local taxes. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distributions to stockholders.

The failure of Agency RMBS subject to a repurchase agreement to qualify as real estate assets would adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.

We have entered and intend to continue to enter into repurchase agreements under which we will nominally sell certain of our Agency RMBS to a counterparty and simultaneously enter into an agreement to repurchase the sold assets. We believe that for U.S. federal income tax purposes these transactions will be treated as secured debt and we will be treated as the owner of the Agency RMBS that are the subject of any such agreement notwithstanding that such agreement may transfer record ownership of such assets to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS could successfully assert that we do not own the Agency RMBS during the term of the repurchase agreement, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Our ability to invest in and dispose of forward settling contracts, including TBA securities, could be limited by the requirements necessary to qualify as a REIT, and we could fail to qualify as a REIT as a result of these investments.

We may purchase Agency RMBS through forward settling contracts, including TBA securities transactions. We may recognize income or gains on the disposition of forward settling contracts. For example, rather than take delivery of the Agency RMBS subject to a TBA, we may dispose of the TBA through a "roll" transaction in which we agree to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price or otherwise, which may result in the recognition of income or gains. The law is unclear regarding whether forward settling contracts will be qualifying assets for the 75% asset test and whether income and gains from dispositions of forward settling contracts will be qualifying income for the 75% gross income test.

Until we receive a favorable private letter ruling from the IRS or we are advised by counsel that forward settling contracts should be treated as qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test, we will limit our investment in forward settling contracts and any non-qualifying assets to no more than 25% of our total gross assets at the end of any calendar quarter and will limit the forward settling contracts issued by any one issuer to no more than 5% of our total gross assets at the end of any calendar quarter. Further, until we receive a favorable private letter ruling from the IRS or we are advised by counsel that income and gains from the disposition of forward settling contracts should be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, we will limit our income and gains from dispositions of forward settling contracts and any non-qualifying income to no more than 25% of our gross income for each calendar year. Accordingly, our ability to purchase Agency RMBS through forward settling contracts and to dispose of forward settling contracts through roll transactions or otherwise, could be limited.

Moreover, even if we are advised by counsel that forward settling contracts should be treated as qualifying assets or that income and gains from dispositions of forward settling contracts should be treated as qualifying income, it is possible that the IRS could successfully take the position that such assets are not qualifying assets and such income is not qualifying income. In that event, we could be subject to a penalty tax or we could fail to qualify as a REIT if (i) the value of our forward settling contracts together with our non-qualifying assets for the 75% asset test, exceeded 25% of our total gross assets at the end of any calendar quarter, (ii) the value of our forward settling contracts, including TBAs, issued by any one issuer exceeds 5% of our total assets at the end of any calendar quarter, or (iii) our income and gains from the disposition of forward settling contracts together with our non-qualifying income for the 75% gross income test, exceeded 25% of our gross income for any taxable year.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.

The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to hedge. Our aggregate gross income from non-qualifying hedges, fees, and certain other non-qualifying sources cannot exceed 5% of our annual gross income. As a result, we might have to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. Any hedging income earned by a TRS would be subject to federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear.

Our ownership of and relationship with any TRSs that we form will be limited and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT qualification and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax.

A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. A TRS may earn income that would not be qualifying income if earned directly by the parent REIT. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A corporation (other than a REIT) of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the stock will automatically be treated as a TRS. Overall, no more than 25% (20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the value of a REIT's total assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. A domestic TRS will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates on any income that it earns. In addition, the TRS rules limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The rules also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm's length basis. Any domestic TRS that we may form will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax on its taxable income, and its after-tax net income will be available for distribution to us but is not required to be distributed to us unless necessary to maintain our REIT qualification.

We may pay taxable dividends in cash and our common stock, in which case stockholders may sell shares of our common stock to pay tax on such dividends, placing downward pressure on the market price of our common stock.

We may make taxable dividends that are payable partly in cash and partly in our common stock. The IRS has issued private letter rulings to other REITs treating certain distributions that are paid partly in cash and partly in stock as dividends that would satisfy the REIT annual distribution requirement and qualify for the dividends paid deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Those rulings may be relied upon only by the taxpayers to whom they were issued, but we could request a similar ruling from the IRS. In addition, the IRS previously issued a revenue procedure authorizing publicly traded REITs to make elective cash/stock dividends, but that revenue procedure has expired. Accordingly, it is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to make taxable dividends payable in cash and common stock. Although we have no current intention of paying dividends in our own stock, if in the future we choose to pay dividends in our common stock, our stockholders may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash that they receive. If a U.S. stockholder sells the shares that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. If we pay dividends in our common stock and a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock.

Our ownership limitations may restrict change of control or business combination opportunities in which our stockholders might receive a premium for their stock.

In order for us to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year after 2013, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals during the last half of any calendar year. "Individuals" for this purpose include natural persons, private foundations, some employee benefit plans and trusts, and some charitable trusts. In order to assist us in qualifying as a REIT, among other purposes, ownership of our stock by any person is generally limited to 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of any class or series of our stock.

These ownership limitations could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction in which holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their common stock over the then-prevailing market price or which holders might believe to be otherwise in their best interests.

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.

The maximum tax rate applicable to "qualified dividend income" payable to U.S. stockholders that are taxed at individual rates is lower than ordinary income tax rates. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced rates on qualified dividend income. The more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause investors who are taxed at individual rates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our common stock.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could reduce the market price of our common stock.

At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective and any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our stockholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.

Certain financing activities may subject us to U.S. federal income tax and could have negative tax consequences for our stockholders.

We currently do not intend to enter into any transactions that could result in our, or a portion of our assets, being treated as a taxable mortgage pool for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we enter into such a transaction in the future, we will be taxable at the highest corporate income tax rate on a portion of the income arising from a taxable mortgage pool, referred to as "excess inclusion income," that is allocable to the percentage of our stock held in record name by disqualified organizations (generally tax-exempt entities that are exempt from the tax on unrelated business taxable income, such as state pension plans, charitable remainder trusts and government entities). In that case, under our charter, we will reduce distributions to such stockholders by the amount of tax paid by us that is attributable to such stockholder's ownership.

If we were to realize excess inclusion income, IRS guidance indicates that the excess inclusion income would be allocated among our stockholders in proportion to our dividends paid. Excess inclusion income cannot be offset by losses of our stockholders. If the stockholder is a tax-exempt entity and not a disqualified organization, then this income would be fully taxable as unrelated business taxable income under Section 512 of the Code. If the stockholder is a foreign person, it would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the maximum tax rate and withholding will be required on this income without reduction or exemption pursuant to any otherwise applicable income tax treaty.

Our recognition of "phantom" income may reduce a stockholder's after-tax return on an investment in our common stock.

We may recognize taxable income in excess of our economic income, known as phantom income, in the first years that we hold certain investments, and experience an offsetting excess of economic income over our taxable income in later years. As a result, stockholders at times may be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on distributions that economically represent a return of capital rather than a dividend. These distributions would be offset in later years by distributions representing economic income that would be treated as returns of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Taking into account the time value of money, this acceleration of U.S. federal income tax liabilities may reduce a stockholder's after-tax return on his or her investment to an amount less than the after-tax return on an investment with an identical before-tax rate of return that did not generate phantom income.

Liquidation of our assets may jeopardize our REIT qualification.

To qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of income. If we are compelled to liquidate our assets to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, thereby jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

Our qualification as a REIT and exemption from U.S. federal income tax with respect to certain assets may be dependent on the accuracy of legal opinions or advice rendered or given or statements by the issuers of assets that we acquire, and the inaccuracy of any such opinions, advice or statements may adversely affect our REIT qualification and result in significant corporate-level tax.

When purchasing securities, we may rely on opinions or advice of counsel for the issuer of such securities, or statements made in related offering documents, for purposes of determining whether such securities represent debt or equity securities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the value of such securities, and also to what extent those securities constitute qualified real estate assets for purposes of the REIT asset tests and produce income which qualifies under the 75% gross income test. The inaccuracy of any such opinions, advice or statements may adversely affect our REIT qualification and result in significant corporate-level tax.

None.

We do not own any real property. Our offices are owned by Bimini, the parent of our Manager, and are located at 3305 Flamingo Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963.  We consider this property to be adequate for our business as currently conducted.  Our telephone number is (772) 231-1400.

We are not party to any material pending legal proceedings as described in Item 103 of Regulation S-K.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

PART II

Market Information

Dividend Distribution Policy

We intend to continue to make regular monthly cash distributions to our stockholders, as more fully described below. To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute annually to our stockholders an amount at least equal to 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain. We will be subject to income tax on our taxable income that is not distributed and to an excise tax to the extent that certain percentages of our taxable income are not distributed by specified dates. Income as computed for purposes of the foregoing tax rules will not necessarily correspond to our income as determined for financial reporting purposes pursuant to GAAP.

Any additional distributions we make will be authorized by and at the discretion of our Board of Directors based upon a variety of factors deemed relevant by our directors, which may include:

	actual results of operations;

	our financial condition;

	our level of retained cash flows;

	our capital requirements;

	any debt service requirements;

	our taxable income;

	the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the Code;

	applicable provisions of Maryland law; and

	other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant.

 

 

 We have not established a minimum distribution payment level, and we cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future.

Our charter authorizes us to issue preferred stock that could have a preference over our common stock with respect to distributions. We currently have no intention to issue any preferred stock, but if we do, the distribution preference on the preferred stock could limit our ability to make distributions to the holders of our common stock.

Our ability to make distributions to our stockholders will depend upon the performance of our investment portfolio, and, in turn, upon our Manager's management of our business. To the extent that our cash available for distribution is less than the amount required to be distributed under the REIT provisions of the Code, we may consider various funding sources to cover any shortfall, including selling certain of our assets, borrowing funds or using a portion of the net proceeds we receive in this offering or future offerings (and thus all or a portion of such distributions may constitute a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes). We also may elect to pay all or a portion of any distribution in the form of a taxable distribution of our stock or debt securities.  In addition, our Board of Directors may change our distribution policy in the future.

Performance Graph

(1)	Hatteras Financial Corp. is no longer in our Agency REIT peer group, as it was acquired by Annaly Capital Management, Inc. in 2016.

 

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

In October 2012, our Board of Directors adopted and Bimini, then our sole stockholder, approved, our 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Incentive Plan"). The Incentive Plan provides for the award of stock options, stock appreciation rights, stock award, performance units, other equity-based awards (and dividend equivalents with respect to awards of performance units and other equity-based awards) and incentive awards.  The Incentive Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors except that our Board of Directors will administer awards made to directors who are not employees of us or our affiliates.  The Incentive Plan provides for awards of up to an aggregate of 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (on a fully diluted basis) at the time of the awards, subject to a maximum aggregate 4,000,000 shares of our common stock that may be issued under the Incentive Plan.

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2016 regarding the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under our Incentive Plan.

There were no repurchases of the Company's common stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

The following selected financial data are derived from our audited financial statements for the five years ended December 31, 2016. The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the more detailed information contained in  the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(1)	Average RMBS, borrowings and stockholders' equity balances are calculated as the average of the quarterly averages.

(2)	The leverage ratio is calculated by dividing total ending liabilities by ending stockholders' equity.

(3)	Portfolio yields and costs of funds are calculated based on the average balances of the underlying investment portfolio/borrowing balances and are annualized for the quarterly periods presented.

(4)	Represents interest cost of our borrowings and the effect of Eurodollar and T-Note futures contracts and options to enter into interest rate swaps ("interest rate swaptions") attributed to the period related to hedging activities, divided by average borrowings.

(5)	Average interest rate spread is calculated by subtracting average cost of funds from average yield on RMBS.

(6)	Average economic interest rate spread is calculated by subtracting average economic cost of funds from average yield on RMBS.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K. The discussion may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical in nature. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under "Risk Factors" in this Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a specialty finance company that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS") which are issued and guaranteed by a federally chartered corporation or agency ("Agency RMBS"). Our investment strategy focuses on, and our portfolio consists of, two categories of Agency RMBS: (i) traditional pass-through Agency RMBS ("PT RMBS") and (ii) structured Agency RMBS, such as collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"), interest only securities ("IOs"), inverse interest only securities ("IIOs") and principal only securities ("POs"), among other types of structured Agency RMBS. We were formed by Bimini in August 2010, commenced operations on November 24, 2010 and completed our initial public offering ("IPO") on February 20, 2013.  We are externally managed by Bimini Advisors, a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

Our business objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted total returns over the long term through a combination of capital appreciation and the payment of regular monthly distributions. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in and strategically allocating capital between the two categories of Agency RMBS described above. We seek to generate income from (i) the net interest margin on our leveraged pass-through Agency RMBS portfolio and the leveraged portion of our structured Agency RMBS portfolio, and (ii) the interest income we generate from the unleveraged portion of our structured Agency RMBS portfolio. We intend to fund our pass-through Agency RMBS and certain of our structured Agency RMBS through short-term borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. Pass-through Agency RMBS and structured Agency RMBS typically exhibit materially different sensitivities to movements in interest rates. Declines in the value of one portfolio may be offset by appreciation in the other. The percentage of capital that we allocate to our two Agency RMBS asset categories will vary and will be actively managed in an effort to maintain the level of income generated by the combined portfolios, the stability of that income stream and the stability of the value of the combined portfolios. We believe that this strategy will enhance our liquidity, earnings, book value stability and asset selection opportunities in various interest rate environments.

We operate so as to qualify to be taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code").  We generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent that we currently distribute all of our REIT taxable income (as defined in the Code) to our stockholders and maintain our REIT qualification.

The Company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "ORC."

Capital Raising Activities

We completed secondary offerings in January and March 2014, raising aggregate net proceeds of approximately $68.2 million from the sale of 5,750,000 shares of our common stock inclusive of the $5.7 million of net proceeds received from the exercise of the underwriters' overallotment option granted in the March 2014 offering, which closed in April 2014.

On June 17, 2014, we entered into an equity distribution agreement (the "June 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement") with two sales agents pursuant to which we could offer and sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $35,000,000 of shares of our common stock in transactions that were deemed to be "at the market" offerings and privately negotiated transactions.  We issued a total of 2,528,416 shares under the June 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement for aggregate proceeds of approximately $34.2 million, net of commissions and fees, prior to its termination.

On September 3, 2014, we entered into a second equity distribution agreement (the "September 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement") with two sales agents pursuant to which we could offer and sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $75,000,000 of shares of our common stock in transactions that were deemed to be "at the market" offerings and privately negotiated transactions.  The September 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement replaced the June 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement.  We issued a total of 5,087,646 shares under the September 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement for aggregate proceeds of approximately $69.1 million, net of commissions and fees, prior to its termination.

On March 2, 2015, we entered into a third equity distribution agreement (the "March 2015 Equity Distribution Agreement") with two sales agents pursuant to which we could offer and sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $100,000,000 of shares of our common stock in transactions that were deemed to be "at the market" offerings and privately negotiated transactions.  The March 2015 Equity Distribution Agreement replaced the September 2014 Equity Distribution Agreement.  We issued a total of 7,218,766 shares under the March 2015 Equity Distribution Agreement for aggregate proceeds of approximately $93.2 million, net of commissions and fees, prior to its termination.

On July 29, 2015, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 2,000,000 shares of our common stock. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the Company in its discretion and will be subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors.  The authorization does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock and the program may be suspended or discontinued at the Company's discretion without prior notice. From the inception of the share repurchase program through December 31, 2015, we repurchased a total of 1,216,243 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $10.8 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $8.92 per share. We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock in 2016.

On July 29, 2016, we entered into a fourth equity distribution agreement (the "July 2016 Equity Distribution Agreement") with two sales agents pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $125,000,000 of shares of our common stock in transactions that are deemed to be "at the market" offerings and privately negotiated transactions.  The July 2016 Equity Distribution Agreement replaced the March 2015 Equity Distribution Agreement.  Through December 31, 2016, we had issued a total of 10,174,992 shares under the July 2016 Equity Distribution Agreement for aggregate proceeds of approximately $108.2 million, net of commissions and fees.

Factors that Affect our Results of Operations and Financial Condition

A variety of industry and economic factors may impact our results of operations and financial condition. These factors include:

	interest rate trends;

	the difference between Agency RMBS yields and our funding and hedging costs;

	competition for investments in Agency RMBS;

	recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury;

	prepayment rates on mortgages underlying our Agency RMBS, and credit trends insofar as they affect prepayment rates; and

	other market developments.

In addition, a variety of factors relating to our business may also impact our results of operations and financial condition. These factors include:

	our degree of leverage;

	our access to funding and borrowing capacity;

	our borrowing costs;

	our hedging activities;

	the market value of our investments; and

	the requirements to qualify as a REIT and the requirements to qualify for a registration exemption under the Investment Company Act.

 

 

Results of Operations

Described below are the Company's results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the Company's results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $2.0 million, or $0.08 per share. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $1.1 million, or $0.05 per share. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $24.5 million, or $2.48 per share. The components of net income for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

GAAP and Non-GAAP Reconciliation

Economic Interest Expense and Economic Net Interest Income

(1)	Reflects the effect of derivative instrument hedges for only the period presented.

(2)	Calculated by adding the effect of derivative instrument hedges attributed to the period presented to GAAP interest expense.

(3)	Calculated by adding the effect of derivative instrument hedges attributed to the period presented to GAAP net interest income.

Net Interest Income

During the year ended December 31, 2016, we generated $71.5 million of net interest income, consisting of $87.1 million of interest income from RMBS assets offset by $15.6 million of interest expense on borrowings.  For the year ended December 31, 2015, we generated $61.5 million of net interest income, consisting of $68.8 million of interest income from RMBS assets offset by $7.3 million of interest expense on borrowings.   The $18.3 million increase in interest income and $8.3 million increase in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily reflects the continued growth of our portfolio fueled by our net capital raising activities, combined with increased yields earned on our portfolio and increased costs and amounts of our borrowings.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, we generated $28.8 million of net interest income, consisting of $31.8 million of interest income from RMBS assets offset by $3.0 million of interest expense on borrowings. The $37.0 million increase in interest income and $4.2 million increase in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2015 also reflects the growth of our portfolio due to our net capital raising activities, combined with increased yields earned on our portfolio and increased costs and amounts of our borrowings.

On an economic basis, our interest expense on borrowings for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 was $25.4 million, $10.2 million and $3.2 million, respectively, resulting in $61.8 million, $58.6 million and $28.6 million of economic net interest income, respectively.

The tables below provide information on our portfolio average balances, interest income, yield on assets, average borrowings, interest expense, cost of funds, net interest income and net interest spread for each quarter in 2016, 2015 and 2014 and for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 on both a GAAP and economic basis.

(1)

Portfolio yields and costs of borrowings presented in the tables above and the tables on pages 48-50 are calculated based on the average balances of the underlying investment portfolio/borrowings balances and are annualized for the quarterly periods presented. Average balances for quarterly periods are calculated using two data points, the beginning and ending balances.  Average balances for the year to date periods are calculated as the average of the average quarterly periods.

(2)	Economic interest expense and economic net interest income presented in the table above and the tables on page 50 includes the effect of our derivative instrument hedges for only the periods presented.

(3)	Represents interest cost of our borrowings and the effect of derivative instrument hedges attributed to the period divided by average RMBS held.

(4)	Economic net interest spread is calculated by subtracting average economic cost of funds from yield on average RMBS.

 

 

Interest Income and Average Asset Yield

Our interest income for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $87.1 million and $68.8 million, respectively.  We had average RMBS holdings of $2,323.0 million and $1,955.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  The yield on our portfolio was 3.75% and 3.52% for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, there was a $18.3 million increase in interest income due to a $367.3 million increase in average RMBS, combined with a 23 basis point ("bps") increase in the yield on average RMBS for the year ended December 31, 2016 when compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.  The increase in average RMBS during the year ended December 31, 2016 reflects the deployment of the proceeds of our net capital raising activities, on a leveraged basis.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, we had interest income of $31.8 million and average RMBS holdings of $937.4 million, resulting in a yield on our portfolio of 3.39%.  For the year ended December 31, 2015, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2014, there was a $37.0 million increase in interest income due to a $1,018.3 million increase in average RMBS, combined with a 13 bps increase in the yield on average RMBS.  The increase in average RMBS during the year ended December 31, 2015 reflects the deployment of the proceeds of our net capital raising activities, on a leveraged basis.

The table below presents the average portfolio size, income and yields of our respective sub-portfolios, consisting of structured RMBS and pass-through RMBS ("PT RMBS") for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 and for each quarter during 2016, 2015 and 2014.

The tables below present the average balance of borrowings outstanding, interest expense and average cost of funds, and average one-month and six-month LIBOR rates for each quarter in 2016, 2015 and 2014 and for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 on both a GAAP and economic basis.