ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC

Our business is organized as a REIT, and we seek to continue to meet the requirements for taxation as a REIT. The determination that we are a REIT requires an analysis of various factual matters and circumstances. Accordingly, we closely monitor our REIT status within our risk management program. We also regularly assess our risk management in respect of our regulated and licensed subsidiaries, which include our registered broker-dealer subsidiary Arcola, our subsidiary that is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act and our subsidiary that operates as a licensed mortgage aggregator and master servicer.

The financial services industry is highly regulated and receives significant attention from regulators, which may impact both our company and our business strategy. Our investments in residential whole loans and MSR require us to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations and maintain appropriate governmental licenses, approvals and exemptions. We proactively monitor the potential impact regulation may have both directly and indirectly on us. We maintain a process to actively monitor both actual and potential legal action that may affect us. Our risk management framework is designed to identify, measure and monitor these risks under oversight of the ERC.

We currently rely on the exemption from registration provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, and we seek to continue to meet the requirements for this exemption from registration. The determination that we qualify for this exemption from registration depends on various factual matters and circumstances. Accordingly, in conjunction with our legal department, we closely monitor our compliance with Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act within our risk management program. Compliance with Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act is monitored by the FRDC.