Blank Stephen R Form 4 MFA FINANCIAL / STEPHEN R BLANK ownership change

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

BLANK STEPHEN R

(Last) (First) (Middle)

C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC.

350 PARK AVENUE, 20TH FLOOR

(Street)

NEW YORK NY 10022

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
MFA FINANCIAL, INC. [ MFA ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director	10% Owner
	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
06/12/2019

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	06/12/2019		M(1)		9,260	A	$7.12	62,987	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Phantom Shares	(2)	06/12/2019		M(2)			9,260	06/12/2019	06/12/2019	Common Stock	9,260	(2)	84,636	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Shares acquired pursuant to the settlement of restricted stock units (i.e., phantom stock) granted to the Reporting Person in May 2014.

2. Settlement of restricted stock units (i.e., phantom stock) granted to the Reporting Person in May 2014. Each phantom share is the economic equivalent of one share of common stock of MFA Financial, Inc. Each phantom share was settled in one share of common stock of MFA Financial, Inc.

	/s/ Harold E. Schwartz, by power of attorney	06/13/2019
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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