NEW YORK MORTGAGE TRUST INC

Board of Directors and Stockholders

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc.

Opinion on the financial statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. (a Maryland corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes and financial statement schedules included under Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”), and our report dated February 21, 2025 expressed an unqualified opinion.

Basis for opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical audit matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Fair value measurements of Residential Loans held by the Company and residential loans held by securitization trusts

As described further in Notes 2 and 3 to the financial statements, the Company's residential loans, at fair value includes residential loans held by the Company and residential loans held by securitization trusts (“Residential Loans”). These consist of performing, re-performing and non-performing residential loans and business purpose loans, which are recorded at fair value, using a fair value option election on a recurring basis. The Company determines the fair value measurement after considering valuations obtained from a third party that specializes in providing valuations of residential loans. We identified the fair value measurement of Residential Loans as a critical audit matter.

The principal considerations for our determination that the fair value measurement of Residential Loans was a critical audit matter are that the assets are priced using unobservable inputs. As such, the fair value measurement requires management to make judgments in order to identify and select the appropriate model and significant assumptions, which may include forecast prepayment rates, default rates, discount rates and rates for loss upon default and collateral values, among others. In addition, the fair value measurements of Residential Loans are highly sensitive to changes in the significant assumptions and underlying market conditions and are material to the financial statements. As a result, obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence related to the fair value measurement required significant auditor subjectivity.

Our audit procedures related to the fair value measurement of Residential Loans included the following, among others. We tested the design and operating effectiveness of relevant controls performed by management relating to the fair value measurement of Residential Loans. We involved valuation specialists to test the reasonableness of property values used by management under the liquidation model for certain loans and we also involved valuation specialists to independently determine the fair value measurement of the Residential Loans and compared them to management’s fair value measurement for reasonableness.

Fair value measurements of certain interest only and first loss subordinated securities issued by Freddie Mac-sponsored residential loan securitization entities (“Consolidated SLST”) holding residential loans

As described further in Notes 2 and 3 to the financial statements, the Company owns investment securities, including interest only and first loss subordinated securities which are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. Some of these investment securities result in the consolidation of the underlying securitization entities as required by Accounting Standards Codification 810, Consolidation. The Company has elected to account for the consolidated securitization entities as Collateralized Finance Entities (“CFEs”) and has elected to measure the financial assets of its CFEs using the fair value of the financial liabilities issued by those entities, which management has determined to be more observable. The interest only and first loss subordinated securities issued by Consolidated SLST are priced individually by the Company utilizing market comparable pricing and discounted cash flow analysis valuation techniques. We identified the fair value measurement of these interest only and first loss subordinated securities in Consolidated SLST (“SLST Investments”) as a critical audit matter.

The principal considerations for our determination that the fair value measurement of the SLST Investments is a critical audit matter are that there is limited observable market data available for these SLST Investments. As such, the fair value measurement requires management to make judgments in order to identify and select the significant assumptions, which may include the discount rate, prepayment rate, collateral default rate and loss severity. In addition, the fair value measurements of the SLST Investments are highly sensitive to changes in the significant assumptions and underlying market conditions and are material to the financial statements. As a result, obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence related to the fair value measurement required significant auditor subjectivity.

Our audit procedures related to the fair value measurement of SLST Investments included the following, among others. We tested the design and operating effectiveness of relevant controls performed by management relating to the fair value measurement of the SLST Investments. We also involved a valuation specialist to independently determine the fair value measurement of the SLST Investments and compared them to management’s fair value measurement for reasonableness.

/s/GRANT THORNTON LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2009.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 21, 2025

Board of Directors and Stockholders

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc.

Opinion on internal control over financial reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. (a Maryland corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control— Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control— Integrated Framework issued by COSO.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, and our report dated February 21, 2025 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

Basis for opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and limitations of internal control over financial reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 21, 2025