KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the related consolidated statements of income, changes in equity and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2025, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the "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 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 COSO.

Basis for Opinions

The Company's management is responsible for these 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 the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and an opinion 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 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 financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to 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. 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.

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.

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.

Current Expected Credit Losses – Qualitative Adjustments – Refer to Notes 2 and 3 of the financial statements

The Company estimates the allowance for credit losses for its loan portfolio primarily using the Weighted Average Remaining Maturity (“WARM”) method, which has been identified as an acceptable approach for computing current expected credit losses. In determining the CECL allowance, the Company considers various factors including (i) historical loss experience in the commercial real estate lending market, (ii) timing of expected repayments and expected loan future funding, (iii) and the Company’s current and future view of the macroeconomic environment for a reasonable and supportable forecast period. The Company derives a historical loss rate predominately based on a commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) database with historical losses provided by a third party. The Company focuses on the most relevant subset of CMBS data that is determined to be the most comparable to its own portfolio. The historical loss rate is further adjusted to consider expected macroeconomic conditions, such as commercial real estate price indices, unemployment rates and market liquidity, over reasonable and supportable forecast periods.

We identified the macroeconomic factors within the CECL allowance as a critical audit matter because of the subjectivity, complexity, and estimation uncertainty in determining the impact of the factors on the Company’s loss rate. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate whether the macroeconomic factors determined by management reasonably and appropriately quantify the current and future macroeconomic risks associated with the Company’s loan portfolio.

Our audit procedures to assess the macroeconomic factors applied by management to the CECL allowance to account for current and future economic conditions included, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s review of the macroeconomic factors applied to the loss rate.

•With the assistance of our credit specialist, we evaluated the reasonableness of the methodology and significant assumptions used to determine the macroeconomic factors by considering relevant industry trends and economic conditions.

•We tested the accuracy and completeness of quantitative data used by management to estimate the current and future view of macroeconomic conditions.

Current Expected Credit Losses – Valuation of Underlying Collateral of Impaired Loans – Refer to Notes 2 and 3 of the financial statements

The Company determines a loan to be collateral dependent if (i) a borrower or sponsor is experiencing financial difficulty, and (ii) the loan is expected to be substantially repaid through the sale of the underlying collateral. For collateral dependent loans, the Company estimates expected losses using the difference between the collateral’s fair value and the amortized cost basis of the loan.

We identified the determination of the CECL allowance for collateral dependent loans as a critical audit matter due to the significant judgment and assumptions relating to the determination of the fair value of the collateral. A high degree of auditor judgement and increased extent of effort was required when performing audit procedures, including the use of our specialists to evaluate management’s CECL assessment.

Our audit procedures related to the determination of the fair value of the collateral for collateral dependent loans, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s determination of fair value of the collateral.

•We evaluated the Company’s determination of fair value by performing the following:

◦With the assistance of our fair value specialists, we evaluated the reasonableness of the (1) valuation methodology; (2) significant assumptions made, including whether the significant inputs used to determine the fair value were appropriate and consistent with what market participants would use to value the collateral; and (3) mathematical accuracy of the overall valuation model.

◦We tested the underlying data used to determine fair value to determine that the information used in the analysis was accurate and complete.

Real Estate Owned — Refer to Notes 2 and 4 of the financial statements

The Company accounts for the acquisition of properties by recording the purchase price of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their relative fair values. The value of the tangible assets, consisting of land, tenant improvements, and buildings is determined as if these assets are vacant. Intangible assets may include the value of in-place leases and favorable lease intangibles, which are each recorded at their relative fair values. Intangible liabilities may include the value of unfavorable leases which are recorded at their relative fair values.

We identified the determination of the relative fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed as a critical audit matter. This fair value analysis required management to make estimates related to the future expected cash flows, including market information as well as discount rates and capitalization rates. We performed audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of these estimates which required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve our fair value specialists.

Our audit procedures related to the relative fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed by the Company included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s critical assumptions including:

◦The selection of the methods and valuation techniques used to determine that fair value is appropriate and consistent with industry standards.

◦The assumptions for allocating the purchase price to tangible and intangible assets and liabilities.

•We obtained and evaluated the purchase price allocation report prepared by management’s expert along with relevant supporting documentation in order to corroborate our understanding of the substance of the acquisition and assess the completeness of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as part of the acquisition.

•With the assistance of our fair value specialists, we evaluated the reasonableness of the valuation methodology, costs to replace certain assets, and significant assumptions used in the cash flow models, including testing the mathematical accuracy of the calculation and comparing the key inputs used in the projections to external market sources.

•We tested the reasonableness of management's capitalization and discount rates by comparing the assumptions used to external market sources.

•We tested the reasonableness of management's projections of the property's net operating income by comparing the assumptions used in the projections to external market sources, executed lease agreements, historical data, and results from other areas of the audit.

/s/DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

New York, New York

February 3, 2026

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2016.