Certain statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Benefit Street PartnersFranklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. ("we," "our," "us," or the "Company") and members of our management team, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based, and generally are identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "seeks," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "should" or similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, unless required by law.

Our forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements, and thus our investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. We believe these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this report,Annual Report, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. These factors include:

Benefit Street PartnersFranklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (the “Company”), formerly known as Realty Finance Trust, Inc., is a real estate finance company that primarily originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments secured by properties located within and outside the United States. The Company was incorporated inWe are a Maryland on November 15, 2012corporation and commenced business operations on May 14, 2013. Wehave made a tax electionelections to be treated as a real estate investment trust (a "REIT") for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31,since 2013. We believe that we have qualified as a REIT and we intend to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. Substantially all of our business is conducted through Benefit Street Partners Realty Operating Partnership, L.P. (the “OP”), a Delaware limited partnership. We are the sole general partner and directly or indirectly hold all of the units of limited partner interests in the OP. In addition, the Company, through a subsidiary which isOne or more of our wholly-owned subsidiaries are treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary (asubsidiaries (each a “TRS”), is indirectlyand are subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes.

The Company has no direct employees. Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. serves as our advisor ("Advisor") pursuant to an advisory agreement, executed on September 29, 2016, as amended and restated by the amended and restated advisory agreement, executed on January 19, 2018August 18, 2021 (the "Advisory Agreement"). The Advisor, an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),SEC, is a credit-focused alternative asset management firm.

The Company invests in commercial real estate debt investments, which may include first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. The Company also originates conduit loans which the Company intends to sell through its TRS into commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") securitization transactions at a profit.

We planOur objective is to implement policiesprovide our common shareholders attractive, risk-adjusted returns through a stable dividend and strategies to achieve our primary investment objectives:

We have four investment strategies. Our first and primary strategy is to originate, acquire and manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt, including first mortgage loans, subordinate loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. We expect that our portfolio of debt investments will be secured by real estate located within and outside the United States and diversified by property type and geographic location. We may alsoOur second strategy is to invest in commercial real estate securities, such as CMBS, CRE CLO Bonds, senior unsecured debt of publicly-traded REITs and CDO notes.

We originate, fund, acquire and structure commercial real estate debt, including first mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, and other loans related to commercial real estate. We may also acquire some equity participations in the underlying collateral of commercial real estate debt. We structure, underwrite, and originate most of our investments. We use conservative underwriting criteria to focus on risk adjusted returns based on several factors, which may include the leverage point, debt service coverage and sensitivity, lease sustainability studies, market and economic conditions, quality of the underlying collateral and location, reputation and track record of the borrower, and a clear exit or refinancing plan for the borrower. Our underwriting process involves comprehensive financial, structural, operational, and legal due diligence to assess

We primarily focus on first mortgage loans. First mortgage loans generally finance the acquisition, refinancing or rehabilitation of commercial real estate. First mortgage loans may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term, may be fixed or floating rate, and are predominantly current-pay loans. We may originate or acquire current-pay first mortgage loans backed by properties that fit our investment strategy. We may selectively syndicate portions of these loans, including senior or junior participations that will effectively provide permanent financing or optimize returns which may include retained origination fees.

B- notesB-notes consist of subordinate mortgage loans, including structurally subordinated first mortgage loans and junior participations in first mortgage loans or participations in these types of assets. Like first mortgage loans, these loans generally finance the acquisition, refinancing, rehabilitation or construction of commercial real estate. Subordinated mortgage loans or B-notes may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term, may be fixed or floating rate, and are predominantly current-pay loans. We may originate or acquire current-pay subordinated mortgage loans or B-notes backed by high quality properties that fit our investment strategy. We may create subordinated mortgage loans by tranching our directly originated first mortgage loans generally through syndications of senior first mortgages or buy such assets directly from third party originators. Due to the limited opportunities in this part of the capital structure, we believe there are certain situations that allow us to directly originate or to buy subordinated mortgage investments from third parties on favorable terms.

We may offer bridge financing products to borrowers who are typically seeking short-term capital to be used in an acquisition, development or refinancing of a given property. From the borrower’s perspective, shorter term bridge financing is advantageous because it allows time to improve the property value through repositioning without encumbering it with restrictive long-term debt. The terms of these loans generally do not exceed three years.

Mezzanine loans are secured by one or more direct or indirect ownership interests in an entity that directly or indirectly owns commercial real estate and generally finance the acquisition, refinancing, rehabilitation or construction of commercial real estate. Mezzanine loans may be either short (one-to-five years) or long (up to ten years) term and may be fixed or floating rate. We may originate or acquire mezzanine loans backed by properties that fit our investment strategy. We may own such mezzanine loans directly or we may hold a participation in a mezzanine loan or a sub-participation in a mezzanine loan. These loans are predominantly current-pay loans (although there may be a portion of the interest that accrues) and may provide for participation in the value or cash flow appreciation of the underlying property as described below. With the credit market disruption and resulting dearth of capital available in this part of the capital structure, we believe that the opportunities to both directly originate and to buy mezzanine loans from third parties on favorable terms will continue to be attractive.

We may pursue equity participation opportunities in connection with our commercial real estate debt originations if we believe that the risk-reward characteristics of the loan merit additional upside participation related to the potential appreciation in value of the underlying assets securing the loan. Equity participations can be paid in the form of additional interest, exit fees, percentage of sharing in refinance or resale proceeds or warrants in the borrower. Equity participation can also take the form of a conversion feature, sometimes referred to as a "kicker," which permits the lender to convert a loan or preferred equity investment into common equity in the borrower at a negotiated premium to the current net asset value of the borrower. We expect to generate additional revenues from these equity participations as a result of excess cash flows being distributed or as appreciated properties are sold or refinanced.

In addition to our focus on origination of and investments in commercial real estate debt, we may also acquire commercial real estate securities, such as CMBS, unsecured REIT debt,CRE CLO Bonds, CDO notes, and equity investments in entities that own commercial real estate.

CMBS and CRE CLO Bonds are securities that are collateralized by, or evidence ownership interests in, a single commercial mortgage loan or a partial or entire pool of mortgage loans secured by commercial properties. CMBS and CRE CLO Bonds are generally pass-through certificates that represent beneficial ownership interests in common law trusts whose assets consist of defined portfolios of one or more commercial mortgage loans. They are typically issued in multiple tranches whereby the more senior classes are entitled to priority distributions of specified principal and interest payments from the trust’s underlying assets. The senior classes are often securities which, if rated, would have ratings ranging from low investment grade “BBB-” to higher investment grades “A,” “AA” or “AAA.” The junior, subordinated classes typically would include one or more non-investment grade classes which, if rated, would have ratings below investment grade “BBB.” Losses and other shortfalls from expected amounts to be received on the mortgage pool are borne first by the most subordinate classes, which receive payments only after the more senior classes have received all principal and/or interest to which they are entitled. We may invest in senior or subordinated, investment grade or non-investment grade CMBS and CRE CLO Bonds, as well as unrated CMBS.CMBS and CRE CLO Bonds.

We may also choose to acquire senior unsecured debt of publicly-traded equity REITs that acquire and hold real estate. Publicly-traded REITs may own large, diversified pools of commercial real estate properties or they may focus on a specific type of property, such as shopping centers, office buildings, multifamily properties and industrial warehouses. Publicly-traded REITs typically employ moderate leverage. Corporate bonds issued by these types of REITs are usually rated investment grade and benefit from strong covenant protection.

CDOs are multiple class debt notes, secured by pools of assets, such as CMBS and mezzanine loans, and unsecured REIT debt.loans. Like typical securitization structures, in a CDO, the assets are pledged to a trustee for the benefit of the holders of the bonds. CDOs often have reinvestment periods that typically last for five years, during which time, proceeds from the sale of a collateral asset may be invested in substitute collateral. Upon termination of the reinvestment period, the static pool functions very similarly to a CMBS securitization where repayment of principal allows for redemption of bonds sequentially.

We may acquire: (i) equity interests (including preferred equity) in an entity (including, without limitation, a partnership or a limited liability company) that is an owner of commercial real property (or in an entity operating or controlling commercial real property, directly or through affiliates), which may be structured to receive a priority return or is senior to the owner's equity (in the case of preferred equity); (ii) certain strategic joint venture opportunities where the risk-return and potential upside through sharing in asset or platform appreciation is compelling; and (iii) private issuances of equity securities (including preferred equity securities) of public companies. Our commercial real estate equity investments may or may not have a scheduled maturity and are expected to be of longer duration (five-to-ten year terms) than our typical portfolio investment. Such investments are expected to be fixed rate (if they have a stated investment rate) and may have accrual structures and provide other distributions or equity participations in overall returns above negotiated levels.

Although we expect that most of our investments will be of the types described above, we may make other investments. For example, we own and expect in the future to own real estate acquired by the Company through foreclosure and deed in lieu of foreclosure, or from purchases of real estate that generally are, or will be, subject to a triple net lease. We may also invest in whatever other types of interests in real estate-related assets that we believe are in our best interest which may include the commercial real property underlying our debt investments as a result of a loan workout, foreclosure or similar circumstances. Although we can purchase any type of real estate-related assets, our charter does limit our ability to make certain types of investments.

Our Advisor has the authority to make all the decisions regarding our investments consistent with the investment guidelines and borrowing policies approved by our board of directors and subject to the limitations in our charter and the direction and oversight of our board of directors. With respect to investments in commercial real estate debt, our board of directors has adopted investment guidelines that our Advisor must follow when acquiring such assets on our behalf without the approval of our board of directors.. We will not however, purchase assets in which our Advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates has an interest without a determination by a majority of our directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction that such transaction is fair and reasonable to us and at a price to us no greater than the cost of the asset to the affiliated seller, unless there is substantial justification for the excess amount and such

In addition to raising capital through our distribution reinvestment plan (the "DRIP") offering and private placements, ourOur financing strategy primarily includes the use of secured repurchase agreement facilities for loans, securities and securitizations. We have also raised capital through private placements of our equity securities. In addition to our current mix of financing sources, we may also access additional forms of financings, including credit facilities, and public andor private secured and unsecured debt issuances by us or our subsidiaries.

We expect to use additional debt financing as a source of capital. We intend to employ reasonable levels of borrowing in order to provide more cash available for investment and to generate improved returns. We believe that careful use of leverage will help us to achieve our diversification goals and potentially enhance the returns on our investments. Our board of directors reviewsoversees our aggregate borrowings at least quarterly to ensure the amount remains reasonable in relation to our net assets and may from time-to-time modify our leverage policy in light of then-current economic conditions, relative costs of debt and equity capital, fair value of our assets, growth and acquisition opportunities or other factors they deem appropriate.borrowing levels.

We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code") commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. In general, as a REIT, if we meet certain organizational and operational requirements and distribute at least 90% of our "REIT taxable income" (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to our stockholders in a year, we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent of the income that we distribute. We believe that we currently qualify and we intend to continue to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code").Code. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and statutory relief provisions were not to apply, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax (including, for taxable years ending before January 1, 2018, any applicable alternative minimum tax) on our income at regular corporate tax rates for the year in which we do not qualify and the succeeding four years. Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and property and U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

We pay income taxes on our Conduit segment, which is conducted by aour wholly-owned taxable REIT subsidiary ("TRS") of the REIT.TRS entities. The income taxes on the Conduit segment are paid at the U.S. federal and applicable state levels.

Our net income depends, in large part, on our ability to originate investments that provide returns in excess of our borrowing cost. In originating these investments, we compete with other mortgage REITs, specialty finance companies, savings and loan associations, banks, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, private funds, other lenders, governmental bodies, and other entities, many of which have greater financial resources and lower costs of capital available to them than we have. In addition, there are numerous mortgage REITs with asset acquisition objectives similar to ours, and others may be organized in the future, which may increase competition for the investments suitable for us. Competitive variables include market presence and visibility, size of loans offered and underwriting standards. To the extent that a competitor is willing to risk larger amounts of capital in a particular transaction or to employ more liberal underwriting standards when evaluating potential loans than we are, our investment volume and profit margins for our investment portfolio could be impacted. Our competitors may also be willing to accept lower returns on their investments and may succeed in buying or underwriting the assets that we have targeted. Although we believe that we are well positioned to compete effectively in each facet of our business, there is enormous competition in our market sector and there can be no assurance that we will compete effectively or that we will not encounter increased competition in the future that could limit our ability to conduct our business effectively.

As of December 31, 2017,2023, we had no direct employees. Our executive officers serve as officers of our Advisor and are employed by an affiliate of our Advisor. The employees of the Advisor and other affiliates of the Advisor perform a full range of real estate services for us, including origination, acquisitions, accounting, legal, asset management, wholesale brokerage, and investor relations services. We are dependent on these affiliates for services that are essential to us, including asset acquisition decisions, and other general administrative responsibilities. In the event that any of these companies were unable to provide these services to us, we would be required to provide such services ourselves or obtain such services from other sources.

We utilize warehouse facilities pursuant to which we accumulate mortgage loans in anticipation of a securitization financing, which assets are pledged as collateral for such facilities until the securitization transaction is consummated. In order to borrow funds to acquire assets under any additional warehouse facilities, we expect that our lenders thereunder would have the right to review the potential assets for which we are seeking financing. We may be unable to obtain the consent of a lender to acquire assets that we believe would be beneficial to us and we may be unable to obtain alternate financing for such assets. In addition, no assurance can be given that a securitization transaction would be consummated with respect to the assets being warehoused. If the securitization is not consummated, the lender could liquidate the warehoused collateral and we would then have to pay any amount by which the original purchase price of the collateral assets exceeds its sale price, subject to negotiated caps, if any, on our exposure. In addition, regardless of whether the securitization is consummated, if any of the warehoused collateral is sold before the consummation, we would have to bear any resulting loss on the sale. No assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain additional warehouse facilities on favorable terms, or at all.

We believe that we have qualified as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. We intend to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT, but we cannot assure stockholders that we qualify as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions for which only a limited number of judicial and administrative interpretations exist. Moreover, new tax legislation, administrative guidance or court decisions, in each instance potentially with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. Even an inadvertent or technical mistake could jeopardize our REIT status.

Our qualification as a REIT depends on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis.basis:

The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS")IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2003-65, which provides a safe harbor pursuant to which a mezzanine loan, if it meets certain requirements, will be treated by the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, and interest derived from such loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test. Although the Revenue Procedure provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We may originate or acquire mezzanine loans that do not satisfy all of the requirements for reliance on the safe harbor set forth in the Revenue Procedure, in which case, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the tax treatment of such loans. If such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may be subject to some U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income or property. For example:

We are party to certain financing arrangements, and may in the future enter into additional financing arrangements, that are structured as sale and repurchase agreements pursuant to which we would nominally sell certain of our assets to a counterparty and simultaneously enter into an agreement to repurchase these assets at a later date in exchange for a purchase price. Economically, these agreements are financings which are secured by the assets sold pursuant thereto. We believe that we would be treated for REIT asset and income test purposes as the owner of the assets that are the subject of any such sale and repurchase agreement notwithstanding that such agreement may transfer record ownership of the assets to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS could assert that we did not own the assets during the term of the sale and repurchase agreement, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Securitizations in the form of bonds or notes secured principally by mortgage loans generally result in the creation of "taxabletaxable mortgage pools"pools (“TMPs”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. AsThe debt securities issued by TMPs are sometimes referred to as “collateralized mortgage obligations” (“CMOs”). We have issued CMOs through TMPs. Unless a TMP is wholly-owned by a REIT, it is subject to taxation as a corporation. However, so long as we owna REIT owns 100% of the equity interestinterests in a taxable mortgage pool, we generally wouldTMP, the TMP will not be adversely affected by the characterizationtaxed as a taxable mortgage pool. Certaincorporation. Instead, certain categories of the REIT’s stockholders, however, such as non-U.S.foreign stockholders eligible for treaty or othersovereign benefits, stockholders with net operating losses, and certaingenerally tax-exempt stockholders that are subject to unrelated business income tax, willmay be subject to taxation, or to increased taxes, on theany portion, known as “excess inclusions,” of their dividend income from usthe REIT that is attributable to any "excess inclusion income" that we have generated as a result of our securitization transactions, and may generate as a result of future securitization transactions. In addition,the TMP, but only to the extent that the REIT actually distributes “excess inclusions” to them. We intend not to distribute “excess inclusions,” but to pay the tax on “excess inclusions” ourselves. Notwithstanding our common stockintention to try to avoid distributions to our stockholders of “excess inclusions”, it is possible that some portion of our dividends to our stockholders may be so characterized.

In order to better control, and to attempt to avoid, the distribution of “excess inclusions” to our stockholders, as of January 1, 2022, our TMPs are wholly-owned by a Subsidiary REIT. Because our TMPs must at all times be owned by tax-exempt “disqualified organizations,” such as certain government-related entities and charitable remainder trusts thata REIT, we are not subject to tax on unrelated business income, we will incur a corporate-level tax on a portion of any excess inclusion income. In that case, we may reduce the amount of our distributions to any disqualified organization whose stock ownership gave rise to the tax. Moreover, we could face limitations inrestricted from selling equity interests in these securitizations to outside investors,them, or selling any debt securitiesnotes or bonds issued in connection with these securitizationsby them that might be considered to be equity interests for tax purposes.purposes, to other investors if doing so would subject them to taxation. These limitationsrestrictions limit the liquidity of our investment in our TMPs and may prevent us from using certain techniquesincurring greater leverage on that investment in order to maximize our returns from securitization transactions.it.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of assets, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to the prohibited transaction tax if we were to dispose of, modify or securitize loans in a manner that is treated as a sale of the loans for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, in order to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales or modifications of loans at the REIT level and may limit the structures we utilize for our securitization transactions, even though the sales, modifications or structures might otherwise be beneficial to us. Additionally, we may be subject to the prohibited transaction tax upon a disposition of real property. Although a safe-harbor exception to prohibited transaction treatment is available, there can be no assurance that we can comply with the safe harbor or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

It may be possible to reduce the impact of the prohibited transaction tax by conducting certain activities through a TRS. However, to the extent that we engage in such activities through a TRS, the income associated with such activities may be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax.

The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code may limit our ability to effectively hedge our assets and operations. Under thesethe REIT provisions, any income that we generate from hedging transactions will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if the instrument hedges: (i) interest rate risk on liabilities incurred to carry or acquire real estate assets; or (ii) risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the REIT 75% or 95% gross income tests, and such instrument is properly identified under applicable U.S. Department of Treasury regulations ("Treasury Regulations"). Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. As a result, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous, which could result in greater risks associated with interest rate or other changes than we would otherwise incur.

To qualify as a REIT, we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of income. If we are compelled to liquidate our investments to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, ultimately jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% prohibited transaction tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as dealer property or inventory.

Our debt and securities investments may be materially affected by a weakchanges in the real estate market and economy in general. As a result, many of the terms of our debt and the mortgage loans underlying our securities may be modified to avoid taking title to a property. Under the Internal Revenue Code, if the terms of a loan are modified in a manner constituting a "significant modification," such modification triggers a deemed exchange of the original loan for the modified loan. In general, under applicable Treasury Regulations if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount

of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan determined as of the date we agreed to acquire the loan or the date we significantly modified the loan, a portion of the interest income from such loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT 95% gross income test. Although the law is not entirely clear, a portion of the loan will likely be a non-qualifying asset for purposes of the REIT 75% asset test. The non-qualifying portion of such a loan would be subject to, among other requirements, the requirement that a REIT not hold securities possessing more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer ("10% Value Test").

IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor pursuant to which we will not be required to redetermine the fair market value of real property securing a loan for purposes of the gross income and asset tests discussed above in connection with a loan modification that is: (i) occasioned by a borrower default; or (ii) made at a time when we reasonably believe that the modification to the loan will substantially reduce a significant risk of default on the original loan. No assurance can be provided that all of our loan modifications have or will qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51. To the extent we significantly modify loans in a manner that does not qualify for that safe harbor, we will be required to redetermine the value of the real property securing the loan at the time it was significantly modified. In determining the value of the real property securing such a loan, we generally will not obtain third-party appraisals, but rather will rely on internal valuations. No assurance can be provided that the IRS will not successfully challenge our internal valuations. If the terms of our debt investments and the mortgage loans underlying our CMBS are "significantly modified" in a manner that does not qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51 and the fair market value of the real property securing such loans has decreased significantly, we could fail the REIT 75% gross income test, the 75% asset test and/or the 10% Value Test. Unless we qualified for relief under certain Internal Revenue Code cure provisions, such failures could cause us to fail to continue to qualify as a REIT.

There are many factors that can affect the amount and timing of cash distributions to stockholders. The amount of cash available for distributions is affected by many factors, such as the cash provided by the Company's investments and obligations to repay indebtedness as well as many other variables. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to pay or maintain the current level of distributions or that distributions will increase over time. In certain prior periods, quarterly distributions have been in excess of our quarterly earnings. Distributions in excess of earnings will decrease the book value per share of common stock. The Company cannot give any assurance that returns from the investments will be sufficient to maintain or increase cash available for distributions to stockholders. Actual results may differ significantly from the assumptions used by the board of directors in establishing the distribution rate to stockholders. The Company may not have sufficient cash from operations to make a REIT.

As reliance on technology in our industry has increased, so have the risks posed to the systems of our Advisor and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations, both internal and outsourced. In addition, the risk of changesa cyber-

incident, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in the tax law applicablesuch attempted attacks and intrusions evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to REITs.be detected and, in fact, may not be detected.

The IRS,remediation costs and lost revenues experienced by a victim of a cyber-incident may be significant and significant resources may be required to repair system damage, protect against the United States Treasury Departmentthreat of future security breaches or to alleviate problems, including reputational harm, loss of revenues and Congress frequently review U.S. federal income tax legislation, regulationslitigation, caused by any breaches.

Although the Advisor and other guidance. We cannot predict whether, when orparties that provide us with services essential to what extent new U.S. federal tax laws, regulations,

Our charter provides that the board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if the board determines that itFurther information relating to cybersecurity risk management is no longerdiscussed in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income and we generally would no longer be required to distribute any of our net taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our stockholders.Item 1C. "Cybersecurity" in this report.

None.

Our headquarters are located in a leased space at 9 West 57th Street,1345 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 4920,32A, New York, New York 10019.10105.

The Company originated a loan in April 2022 secured by a portfolio of material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental24 properties net leased to Walgreens (the “Collateral Properties”). As described in more detail in Part I, Item 3, "Legal Proceedings" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the business, or material pending or threatened regulatory proceedings, againstsponsor’s fraud and default under the loan the Company at this time.foreclosed on all of the Collateral Properties in 2022 and 2023. The Company is marketing the Collateral Properties for sale and is actively pursuing its civil remedies. Note that the collectability, if any, of legal judgments we have achieved to date and that we may achieve in the future is not currently determinable.

Not applicable.

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), under the symbol "FBRT." On February 7, 2024, the last sales price for our shares of common stock and we currently have no immediate plans to list our shares on a national securities exchange. Until our shares are listed on a national securities exchange, if ever, our stockholders may not sell their shares unless the buyer meets the applicable suitability and minimum purchase requirements. In addition, our charter prohibits the ownership of more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of stock or more than 9.8% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of any class or series of shares of our stock by a single investor, unless exempted by our board of directors. Consequently, there is the risk that our stockholders may not be able to sell their shares at a time or price acceptable to them. On November 9, 2017, the board of directors, upon the recommendation of the Advisor, unanimously approved and established an estimated NAVNYSE was $12.26 per share of the Company’s common stock of $19.02. The estimated per share NAV is based upon the estimated value of the Company’s assets less the Company’s liabilities as of September 30, 2017. This valuation was performed in accordance with the provisions of Practice Guideline 2013-01, Valuations of Publicly Registered Non-Listed REITs, issued by the Investment Program Association in April 2013, including the use of an independent third-party valuation firm to estimate the fair value of our commercial real estate debt investments and commercial mortgage backed securities. See our current report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2017 for our methodology for calculating our estimated per-share NAV.share.

As of February 28, 2018,7, 2024, we had 31,533,3703,104 registered holders of our common stock. The 3,104 holders of record include Cede & Co., which holds shares as nominee for The Depository Trust Company, which itself holds shares on behalf of the beneficial owners of our common stock outstanding held by a total of 16,330 stockholders.stock. Such information was obtained through our registrar and transfer agent.

We haveThe Company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code commencing with ourthe taxable year ended December 31, 2013. As a REIT, if we meetthe Company meets certain organizational and operational requirements and distributedistributes at least 90% of ourits' "REIT taxable income" (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to ourthe stockholders in a year, wethe Company will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent of the income that we distribute. Even if we qualifythe Company qualifies for taxation as a REIT, wethe Company may be subject to certain state and local taxes on ourits' income and property and U.S. federal income and excise taxes on any undistributed income.

Our Board unanimously approved an amended and restatedThe Company’s board of directors has authorized a $65 million share repurchase program (the “SRP”), which became effective on February 28, 2016. The SRP enables stockholders to sell their shares to us. Subject to certain conditions, stockholders that purchased shares of our common stock or received their shares from us (directly or indirectly) through one or more non-cash transactions and have held their shares for a period ofpermits share repurchases at least one year may request that we repurchase their shares of common stock so long asprices below the repurchase otherwise complies with the provisions of Maryland law. Repurchase requests made following the death or qualifying disability of a stockholder will not be subject to any minimum holding period.

The information required by law, by the 31st day following the end of the fiscal semester during which the repurchase request was made.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements of Benefit Street PartnersFranklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. the notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting the Company’s current expectations, estimates and assumptions concerning events and financial trends that may affect our future operating results or financial position. Actual results and timing of events may differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.”

We were incorporated inThe Company is a Maryland on November 15, 2012corporation and have conducted our operationshas made tax elections to qualifybe treated as a REITreal estate investment trust ("REIT") for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with our taxable year ended December 31,since 2013. The Company, through a subsidiaryone or more subsidiaries which isare each treated as a TRS,taxable REIT subsidiary ("TRS"), is indirectly subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes. On May 14, 2013, weWe commenced business operations after raising in excess of $2.0 million of equity, the amount required for us to release equity proceeds from escrow.May 2013. We primarily originate, acquire and manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments secured by properties located within and outside of the United States. Commercial real estate debt investments may include first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. Substantially all of our business is conducted through the OP, a Delaware limited partnership. We are the sole general partner and directly or indirectly hold all of the units of limited partner interests in the OP.

The Company has no direct employees. On September 29, 2016 we terminatedWe are managed by our advisory agreement with our Former Advisor pursuant to an affiliate of AR Global Investments, LLC, and entered into, and executed, an advisory agreement with Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. on January 19, 2018. The appointment of the Advisor and the execution of the Advisory Agreement were recommended by a special committee of our board of directors consisting exclusively of our independent directors. The special committee, with the assistance of its independent financial advisor and independent legal counsel, conducted a competitive process to select a new advisor before selecting the Advisor.(the "Advisory Agreement"). Our Advisor manages our affairs on a day-to-day basis. The Advisor receives compensation and fees for services related to the investment and management of our assets and our operations.

The Advisor, an SEC-registered investment adviser, is a credit-focused alternative asset management firm. The Advisor manages funds for institutions and high-net-worth investors across various credit funds and complementary strategies including high yield, levered loans, private / opportunistic debt, liquid credit, structured credit and commercial real estate debt. These strategies complement each other as they all leverage the sourcing, analytical, compliance, and operational capabilities that encompass the Advisor’s robust platform. The Advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., which together with its various subsidiaries operates as "Franklin Templeton".

The Company invests in commercial real estate debt investments, which may include first mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participations in such loans. The Company also originates conduit loans which the Company intends to sell through its TRS into CMBScommercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") securitization transactions at a profit.

Set forth below is a summary of the significantcritical accounting estimates and critical accounting policies that management believes are important to the preparation of our financial statements. Certain of our accounting estimates are particularly important for an understanding of our financial position and results of operationsstatements and require complex management judgment. The Company’s significant accounting policies, including recently issued accounting pronouncements, are more fully described in Note 2 – Summary of Critical Accounting Policies to the applicationaccompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The general allowance for credit losses for the Company’s financial instruments carried at amortized cost net of unamortized acquisition expenses, discounts or premiums and unfunded commitments. Commercial mortgageoff-balance sheet credit exposures, such as loans held for investment purposes,and unfunded loan commitments represents a lifetime estimate of expected credit losses. Factors considered by the Company when determining the general allowance for credit losses reserve include loan-specific characteristics such as loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratio, vintage year, loan term, property type, occupancy and geographic location, financial performance of the borrower, expected payments of principal and interest, as well as internal or external information relating to past events, current conditions and forward looking information through the use of projected macroeconomic scenarios over the reasonable and supportable forecasts.

In measuring the general allowance for credit losses for financial instruments such as loans held for investment and unfunded loan commitments that share similar risk characteristics, the Company primarily applies a probability of default (“PD”)/loss given default (“LGD”) model for instruments that are deemedcollectively assessed, whereby the provision for credit losses is calculated as the product of PD, LGD and exposure at default (“EAD”). The Company’s model to determine the general allowance for credit losses principally utilizes historical loss rates derived from a commercial mortgage backed securities database with historical losses from 2002 to 2021 provided by a reputable third party, forecasting the 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 financial instruments assessed on an individual basis, including when it is probable that the Company will be unable to collect the full payment of principal and interest on the instrument, the Company applies a discounted cash flow (“DCF”) methodology.

For financial instruments where the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty based on the Company’s assessment at the reporting date and the repayment is expected to be impaired willprovided substantially through the operation or sale of the collateral, the Company may elect to use as a practical expedient the fair value of the collateral at the reporting date when determining the specific allowance for credit losses.

For loans held for investment which the Company identifies reasonable doubt as to whether the collection of contractual components can be carried at amortized cost lesssatisfied, a loan specific allowance for credit losses analysis is performed. Determining whether a specific allowance for credit losses for a loan losses. Interest incomeis required entails significant judgment from management and is based on several factors including (i) the underlying collateral performance, (ii) discussions with the borrower, (iii) borrower events of default, and (iv) other facts that impact the borrower’s ability to pay the contractual amounts due under the terms of the loan. If a loan is determined to have a specific allowance for credit losses, the specific allowance for credit losses is recorded as a component of our Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") reserve by applying the practical expedient for collateral dependent loans. The CECL reserve is assessed on an individual basis for such loans by comparing the accrual basis and related discounts, premiums and acquisition expenses on investments are amortized over the life of the investment using the effective interest method. Amortization is reflected as an adjustment to interest income in our consolidated statements of operations. Guaranteed loan exit fees payable by the borrower upon maturity are accreted over the life of the investment using the effective interest method. The accretion of guaranteed loan exit fees is recognized in interest income in our consolidated statements of operations and the associated receivable is included in the consolidated balance sheet.

In developing the provision for credit losses for its loans held for investment, the Company performs a comprehensive analysis of its loan portfolio and assigns risk ratings to loans that incorporate management's current judgments about their credit quality based on all known and relevant internal and external factors that may affect collectability. The Company considers, among other things, payment status, lien position, borrower financial resources and investmentcollectability, using similar factors as those in collateral, collateral type, project economics and geographic location as well as national and regional economic factors.developing the provision for credit losses. This methodology results in loans being segmented by risk classification into risk rating categories that are associated with estimated probabilities of default and principal loss. Risk rating categories range from "1" to "5" with "1" representing the lowest risk of loss and "5" representing the highest risk of loss.loss with the ratings updated quarterly.

Real estate owned assets, held for investment in collateral, collateral type, project economics and geographical location as well as national and regional economic factors. A reserve is established for an impaired loan when the present value of payments expected to be received, observable market prices or theare carried at their estimated fair value at acquisition and presented net of accumulated depreciation and impairment charges. The Company allocates the collateral (for loans that are dependentpurchase price of acquired real estate assets based on the collateral for repayment) is lower than the carrying value of that loan.

Real estate owned assets, held for such loans. In more limited cases,investment are depreciated using the Advisor will obtain external "as is" appraisalsstraight-line method over estimated useful lives of up to 40 years for loan collateral, generallybuildings and improvements and up to 15 years for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Renovations and/or replacements that improve or extend the life of the real estate owned assets are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Real estate owned revenue is recognized when third party participations exist.the Company satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to a customer. The Company is considered to have satisfied all performance obligation at a point in time.

A loan is also considered impaired ifReal estate owned assets that are probable to be sold within one year are reported as held for sale. Real estate owned assets classified as held for sale are measured at the lower of its termscarrying value or estimated fair value less cost to sell. Real estate owned assets are modified innot depreciated or amortized while classified as held for sale. Interest and other expenses attributable to the liabilities of a troubled debt restructuring ("TDR"). A TDR occurs whendisposal group classified as held for sale continue to be accrued. Upon the disposition of a concession is grantedreal estate owned asset, the Company calculates realized gains and losses as net proceeds received less the debtor is experiencing financial difficulties. Impairments on TDR loans are generally measured based on the presentcarrying value of expected future cash flows discounted at the effective interest ratereal estate owned asset. Net proceeds received are net of direct selling costs associated with the disposition of the original loans.

Commercial realReal estate securities for which the fair value option has not been elected will be periodically evaluated for other-than-temporarycredit impairment. IfAFS real estate securities which have experienced a decline in the fair value of a security is less than itsbelow their amortized cost basis (i.e., impairment) are evaluated each reporting period to determine whether the securitydecline in fair value is considered impaired. Impairmentdue to credit-related factors. Any impairment that is not credit-related is recognized in other comprehensive income, while credit-related impairment is recognized as an allowance in the consolidated balance sheets with a corresponding adjustment in the consolidated statements of a security will be considered to be other-than-temporary when (i)operations. If the Advisor has the intentCompany intends to sell thean impaired security; (ii) it isreal estate security or more likely than not we will be required to sell the security; or (iii) the Advisor does not expect to recoversuch a security before recovering its amortized cost basis, the entire impairment amount is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations with a corresponding adjustment to the security’s amortized cost basis.

The Company analyzes the AFS security portfolio on a periodic basis for credit losses at the individual security level using the same criteria described above for those amortized cost financial assets subject to an allowance for credit losses including but not limited to; performance of the security. Ifunderlying assets in the Advisor determines that an other-than-temporary impairment existssecurity, borrower financial resources and a saleinvestment in collateral, collateral type, credit ratings, project economics and geographic location as well as national and regional economic factors.

Commercial realReal estate securities for which the fair value option has been elected willare not be evaluated for other-than-temporary impairment as changes in fair value are recorded in ourthe consolidated statement of operations.

The Company conducts its business through the following segments:

An investments region classification is defined according to the below map based on the location of investments secured property.