New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:NYMT) Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call November 3, 2022 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Jason Serrano - President and CEO

Kristine Nario-Eng - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Christopher Nolan - Ladenburg Thalmann

Matthew Howlett - B. Riley

Eric Hagen - BTIG

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the New York Mortgage Trust Third Quarter 2022 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This conference is being recorded on Thursday, November 3, 2022. A press release and supplemental financial presentation with New York Mortgage Trust's third quarter results was released yesterday. Both the press release and supplemental financial presentation are available on the company's website at www.nymtrust.com. Additionally, we are hosting a live webcast of today's call, which you can access in the Events & Presentations section of the company's website.

At this time, management would like me to inform you that certain statements made during the conference call which are not historical may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although New York Mortgage Trust believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations are detailed in yesterday's press release and from time to time in company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Now at this time, I would like to introduce Jason Serrano, CEO and President. Jason, please go ahead.

Jason Serrano

Thank you very much. Good morning. Welcome to New York Mortgage Trust 2020 third quarter earnings call. I'm joined this morning by our CFO, Kristine Nario. I'll be referring to the supplemental, which is posted on our website for additional details.

The U.S. economy activity was pressured in the third quarter by rising interest rates, concerns over tightening monetary policy, near double-digit inflation and geopolitical instability. Thus far, in 2022, equity markets have been challenged with the Fed's decision to raise interest rates by 75 basis points in four consecutive meetings, taking the federal funds rate to its highest point since 2008 with expected additional rate hikes in the upcoming months, alongside of a growth -- growing concerns of a potential near-term recession.

Accordingly, fixed income markets have been impacted. The yield on the two-year treasury increased to 4.22% at the end of the quarter, an increase of 349 basis points from last year. Rate hikes by the Fed contributed to the treasury curve inverting. At the end of September, the spread between the two and 10-year treasury yield closed at negative 39 basis points compared to 79 basis points positive at 2021 year-end.