Here are 1-2 brief analogies for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF):

• Like Rocket Mortgage, but for office buildings, hotels, and shopping centers instead of homes.
• It's similar to the commercial real estate lending division of a major bank like Wells Fargo or Bank of America, but as an independent, publicly traded company.

Major Products/Services of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF)

• Senior Mortgage Loans: KREF originates and acquires floating-rate senior mortgage loans secured by transitional commercial real estate properties in the U.S. and Europe.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) is a real estate finance company that primarily originates and acquires senior loans secured by commercial real estate properties. Therefore, its "customers" are the borrowers for these commercial real estate loans.

KREF sells primarily to other companies, investment vehicles, and institutional sponsors, rather than directly to individuals. Due to the proprietary nature of lending relationships and the structure of commercial real estate financing (where loans are often made to Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for specific projects), KREF does not publicly disclose the names of its specific "major customer companies." Instead, its customer base can be described by the following categories of borrowers:

• Real Estate Developers: Companies or entities involved in the acquisition, development, and construction of new commercial properties across various sectors (e.g., multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality). These borrowers seek financing for their project costs.
• Real Estate Investment Firms and Sponsors: Professional real estate investment companies, private equity funds, and other institutional sponsors that acquire, manage, and enhance existing commercial real estate assets. These entities often seek financing for property acquisitions, recapitalizations, or value-add renovation projects.
• Institutional Investors: Large organizations such as pension funds, endowments, and other financial institutions that invest directly or indirectly in commercial real estate and require financing for their property portfolios or specific developments.

• KKR Real Estate Finance Manager LLC (affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc., symbol: KKR)
• Deloitte & Touche LLP

Matthew Salem, Chief Executive Officer
Matthew Salem joined KKR in 2015, where he is a Partner and Head of KKR Real Estate Credit. He has served as CEO of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) since March 2020 and as a director since February 2022. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Salem was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management. Before his time at Rialto, which he joined in 2012, he was a managing director and head of CMBS trading at Goldman Sachs. He also held positions at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Alternative Investments, where he focused on mezzanine debt and other high-yield commercial real estate credit for Travelers Insurance Companies. Mr. Salem began his career in 1996 at Midland Loan Services in Kansas City. He sits on KKR's Real Estate Investment Committees and has served on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council.

Kendra Decious, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Kendra Decious has served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and its Manager since March 2022. She joined KKR in 2006 and is a Managing Director in the Finance group. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Decious was the Chief Financial Officer of KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. She is also a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Commercial Real Estate Multifamily Finance Board of Governors.

W. Patrick Mattson, President and Chief Operating Officer
W. Patrick Mattson has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of KREF since March 2020. He joined KKR in 2015 and is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of KKR's Real Estate Credit group. Before joining KKR, Mr. Mattson was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management, where he led the mezzanine debt platform. Prior to Rialto, he spent nine years at Morgan Stanley, holding various positions within the commercial real estate groups, including on the securitized products trading desk. He also worked at Deloitte & Touche, focusing on the firm's CMBS practice. Mr. Mattson is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee and Portfolio Management Committee.

Kelly Galligan, General Counsel and Secretary
Kelly Galligan has served as the Company's General Counsel and Secretary since October 2024.

Ralph F. Rosenberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Ralph F. Rosenberg has served as a director of KREF since October 2014 and is the Chairman of its Board of Directors. He joined KKR in 2011 and is a Partner and the Chairman of KKR's Real Estate Assets Platform. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Rosenberg was a partner at Eton Park Capital Management, and he also managed his own firm, R6 Capital Management, which later merged into Eton Park. Before that, he spent seventeen years at Goldman Sachs, where he co-founded and co-headed the Goldman Sachs Global Special Situations Group from 2004 to 2006. He also served as Co-Chief Operating Officer of the Goldman Sachs Real Estate Principal Investment Area prior to 2004.

One clear emerging threat to KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) is the **long-term structural decline in demand for traditional office properties due to the sustained adoption of remote and hybrid work models**. Given KREF's significant exposure to office properties (approximately 28% of its loan portfolio as of Q3 2023), a prolonged reduction in office occupancy and a reassessment of office space needs could lead to depressed valuations for office buildings, increased default risk among borrowers, and a diminished pool of attractive lending opportunities in a core sector of commercial real estate. This represents a fundamental shift in the utility and value proposition of a major asset class, akin to how streaming services disrupted the physical media rental market.

Another clear emerging threat is the **increasing financial materiality of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and climate risks in commercial real estate**. As investors, regulators, and tenants increasingly prioritize sustainability, properties that do not meet evolving ESG standards (e.g., energy efficiency, carbon footprint, climate resilience) face potential devaluation, higher operating costs, increased insurance premiums due to physical climate risks, and reduced liquidity. This trend could render a portion of KREF's existing collateral less desirable or financially viable over time, leading to potential impairments and higher credit risk, as well as impacting future lending criteria and opportunities in a significant portion of the market.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) primarily focuses on originating and acquiring transitional senior loans secured by institutional-quality commercial real estate (CRE) assets in the United States. The company's target assets also encompass mezzanine loans, preferred equity, and other debt-oriented instruments within the CRE sector.

The addressable market for KREF's main products and services is the U.S. commercial real estate debt market.

• The total commercial real estate (CRE) mortgage debt outstanding in the U.S. was approximately $5.9 trillion as of the fourth quarter of 2023. This figure also stood at $5.9 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, including multifamily loans. Other estimates indicate the U.S. CRE mortgage market, backed by income-producing properties, was roughly $4.5 trillion as of March 2023, and $4.70 trillion as of Q1 2024, alongside an additional $470 billion in construction loans.
• Total commercial real estate mortgage borrowing and lending in the U.S. was estimated at $498 billion in 2024.
• The U.S. Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) market, which involves collections of commercial mortgage loans bundled and sold to investors, had a market capitalization of around $1.8 trillion as of December 31, 2024.

1. Increased Loan Origination Volume Amid Stabilizing Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Market Conditions: KREF anticipates an active origination year in 2025, with plans to redeploy capital from repayments into new loan originations. S&P Global Ratings also projects that KREF will likely increase its origination activity in 2025 as real estate market conditions stabilize. Management has noted an improving sentiment in commercial real estate, with investor confidence slowly returning and transaction volumes rising, indicating an environment conducive to new lending opportunities. KREF has a robust pipeline of over $20 billion and expects to resume significant lending activities in the coming quarters.
2. Reinvestment of Loan Repayments into Attractive Real Estate Credit: A core strategy for KREF is to maintain its portfolio size by reinvesting proceeds from loan repayments into new, attractive real estate credit opportunities. This ensures continuous deployment of capital into interest-earning assets, directly contributing to sustained revenue generation as existing loans mature.
3. Optimization and Repatriation of Equity from the REO Portfolio: KREF aims to enhance its financial performance by optimizing its Real Estate Owned (REO) portfolio. The company believes that successfully repatriating equity from these assets could generate an additional $0.12 per share in distributable earnings quarterly, signaling a direct path to increased profitability and revenue from resolving underperforming assets.
4. Leveraging KKR's Integrated Global Real Estate Platform: KREF benefits significantly from its integration with KKR's broader Real Estate platform. This affiliation provides a competitive advantage in sourcing, evaluating, structuring, and managing investments, as well as accessing capital markets. Analysts expect this integration to enhance risk-adjusted returns, reduce earnings volatility, and secure a robust pipeline of higher-yielding loans, ultimately supporting revenue growth.

Share Repurchases

• KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) authorized a $100.0 million share repurchase program effective February 3, 2023, with no expiration date, replacing an earlier program.
• During the second quarter of 2025, KREF repurchased $20 million of its common stock.
• Since the inception of its buyback plan, KREF has repurchased a total of $137 million of common stock as of the second quarter of 2025.

Share Issuance

• In January 2022, KREF completed a public offering of 4,400,000 additional shares of its 6.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, generating gross proceeds of $110.0 million.
• As of December 31, 2024, 1,214,534 net shares of common stock were issued in connection with vested restricted stock units.

Outbound Investments

• KREF's primary investment strategy involves originating and acquiring senior loans secured by institutional-quality commercial real estate properties.
• In the second quarter of 2025, the company originated $211 million in new loans, primarily secured by industrial and multifamily properties.
• As of September 30, 2025, KREF's portfolio comprised 52 commercial real estate loans held-for-investment.