Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, and the related consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive income, of changes in stockholders’ equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2025, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the accompanying index as of December 31, 2025 (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements. We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2025 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Basis for Opinions

The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Annual Reporting on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (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 audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated 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 consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

As described in Management’s Annual Reporting on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, management has excluded NewPoint Holdings JV LLC from its assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, because it was acquired by the Company in a purchase business combination during 2025. We have also excluded NewPoint Holdings JV LLC from our audit of internal control over financial reporting. NewPoint Holdings JV LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary whose total assets and total revenues excluded from management’s assessment and our audit of internal control over financial reporting represent 12% and 16%, respectively, of the related consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025.

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 (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) 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 (iii) 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.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated 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.

Allowance for Credit Losses – Commercial Mortgage Loans Held for Investment

As described in Notes 2 and 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the allowance for credit losses on the Company’s commercial mortgage loans held for investment was $38.3 million as of December 31, 2025, inclusive of the general and specific allowances for credit losses of $34.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively. The general allowance for credit losses for the Company’s loans carried at amortized cost, such as loans held for investment, represents a lifetime estimate of expected credit losses. In measuring the general allowance for credit losses for loans held for investment, the Company primarily applies a probability of default (“PD”)/loss given default (“LGD”) model for loans that are collectively assessed and the allowance for credit losses is calculated as the product of the PD, LGD and exposure at default (“EAD”) estimates. The Company’s model to determine the general allowance for credit losses principally utilizes historical loss rates, forecasting loss parameters based on a projected macroeconomic scenario using a probability-based statistical approach over a reasonable and supportable forecast period of twelve months, followed by an immediate reversion to average historical losses. For loans held for investment which management identifies reasonable doubt as to whether the collection of contractual components can be satisfied, a specific allowance for credit losses analysis is performed. If a loan is determined to have a specific allowance for credit losses, it is recorded by applying the practical expedient for collateral dependent loans. The specific allowance for credit losses is assessed on an individual basis for such loans by comparing the estimated fair value of the underlying collateral, less costs to sell to the book value of the respective loan. The estimated fair value of the underlying collateral requires judgments such as, assumptions regarding capitalization rates, discount rates, leasing, creditworthiness of major tenants, occupancy rates, availability and cost of financing, exit plans, loan sponsorship, actions of other lenders, and other factors deemed relevant by management.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the allowance for credit losses for commercial mortgage loans held for investment is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the fair value estimate of the underlying collateral used to determine the specific allowance for credit losses for commercial mortgage loans held for investment; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgement, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to capitalization rates and discount rates; (iii) a high degree of audit effort in performing procedures related to the general allowance for credit losses; and (iv) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to the allowance for credit losses for commercial mortgage loans held for investment, including controls over management’s significant assumptions related to capitalization rates and discount rates used when developing the fair value estimate of the underlying collateral used to determine the specific allowance for credit losses. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for developing the allowance for credit losses for commercial mortgage loans held for investment; (ii) testing the completeness and accuracy of certain data used when developing the allowance for credit losses; and (iii) the involvement of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in evaluating (a) the appropriateness of the PD and LGD model used by management when developing the general allowance for credit losses, (b) the appropriateness of the methodology used by management when developing the fair value estimate of the underlying collateral used when determining the specific allowance for credit losses, (c) the probability of default and loss given default estimates, including management’s selected projected macroeconomic scenario when estimating the general allowance for credit losses, and (d) the reasonableness of the capitalization rates and discount rates assumptions used when developing the fair value estimate of the underlying collateral used when determining the specific allowance for credit losses.

Acquisition of NewPoint Holdings JV LLC – Valuation of Agency Licenses

As described in Notes 2 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements, on July 1, 2025, the Company completed the acquisition of NewPoint Holdings JV LLC (“NewPoint”) for an aggregate purchase price of $427.8 million. Of the acquired intangible assets, $73 million of agency licenses were recorded. The fair value of the acquired agency licenses was estimated using a discounted cash flow method which involves projecting revenue and servicing fees associated with the license, while accounting for related expenses. The significant unobservable input used to discount the future cash flows to present value is the discount rate.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the valuation of the agency licenses acquired in the acquisition of NewPoint is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgement by management when developing the fair value estimate of the agency licenses acquired; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgement, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant unobservable input related to the discount rate; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to the acquisition accounting, including controls over management’s valuation of the agency licenses acquired. These procedures also included, among others, (i) reading the purchase agreement; (ii) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimate of the agency licenses acquired; and (iii) testing the completeness and accuracy of certain underlying data used in the discounted cash flow method. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating (a) the appropriateness of the discounted cash flow method and (b) the reasonableness of the discount rate unobservable input used when developing the fair value estimate of the agency licenses acquired.

/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Atlanta, Georgia

February 25, 2026

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2023.