MFA Financial (MFA) 10-K 2016 FY Annual report

Exhibit 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

MFA Financial, Inc.:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statements (Nos. 333-213678 and 333-214659) on Form S-3 and in the registration statement (No. 333-205105) on Form S-8 of MFA Financial, Inc., of our reports dated February 16, 2017, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of MFA Financial, Inc. as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income/(loss), changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2016, and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016, which reports appear in the December 31, 2016 annual report on Form 10-K of MFA Financial, Inc.

/s/ KPMG LLP

New York, New York

February 16, 2017