Organization and Investment Objective

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Investment Objective

Organization and Investment Objective

Ellington Financial Inc. commenced operations on August 17, 2007 and is a Delaware corporation. Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC (the "Operating Partnership"), a 99.3% owned consolidated subsidiary of Ellington Financial Inc., was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on December 14, 2012 and commenced operations on January 1, 2013. All of Ellington Financial Inc.'s operations and business activities are conducted through the Operating Partnership. Ellington Financial Inc., the Operating Partnership, and their consolidated subsidiaries are hereafter collectively referred to as the "Company." All intercompany accounts are eliminated in consolidation.

The Company conducts its operations to qualify and be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or "REIT," under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), and has elected to be taxed as a corporation effective January 1, 2019. In anticipation of the Company's intended election to be taxed as a REIT under the Code beginning with its 2019 taxable year (the "REIT Election"), the Company implemented an internal restructuring as of December 31, 2018. As part of this restructuring, the Company moved certain of its non-REIT-qualifying investments and financial derivatives to taxable REIT subsidiaries or, "TRSs," and disposed of certain of its investments in non-REIT-qualifying investments and financial derivatives.

Ellington Financial Management LLC (the "Manager") is an SEC-registered investment adviser that serves as the Manager to the Company pursuant to the terms of its Seventh Amended and Restated Management Agreement (the "Management Agreement"), which was approved by Ellington Financial Inc.'s Board of Directors (the "Board of Directors") effective March 13, 2018. The Manager is an affiliate of Ellington Management Group, L.L.C. ("Ellington"), an investment management firm that is registered as both an investment adviser and a commodity pool operator. In accordance with the terms of the Management Agreement, the Manager implements the investment strategy and manages the business and operations on a day-to-day basis for the Company and performs certain services for the Company, subject to oversight by the Board of Directors.

On October 3, 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in Longbridge Financial, LLC ("Longbridge"), a reverse mortgage loan originator and servicer (the "Longbridge Transaction"). As a result of the Longbridge Transaction, the Company consolidates Longbridge's financial results. Additionally, on December 14, 2023, Arlington Asset Investment Corp., a Virginia corporation (“Arlington”), merged with and into EF Merger Sub Inc., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, pursuant to the agreement and plan of merger (the “Arlington Merger Agreement”) which was entered into on May 29, 2023 (the “Arlington Merger”). See Note 25, Business Combinations, for additional details.

The Company has two reportable segments, the Investment Portfolio Segment and the Longbridge Segment. The Investment Portfolio Segment is focused on investing in a diverse array of financial assets, including residential and commercial mortgage loans; residential mortgage-backed securities, or "RMBS"; commercial mortgage-backed securities, or "CMBS"; investments referencing a portfolio of mortgage servicing rights on forward mortgage loans, or "Forward MSR-related investments"; consumer loans and asset-backed securities, or "ABS," including ABS backed by consumer loans; collateralized loan obligations, or "CLOs"; non-mortgage- and mortgage-related derivatives; debt and equity investments in loan origination companies; and other strategic investments. The Longbridge Segment is focused on the origination and servicing of reverse mortgage loans. Longbridge acquires reverse mortgage loans both through its origination activities and through secondary market purchases. Historically, the majority of loans acquired by Longbridge have been home equity conversion mortgage loans, or "HECMs," which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, or "FHA." Such loans are generally eligible for securitization into HECM-backed MBS, or "HMBS," which are guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association, or "GNMA." Longbridge is an approved issuer of HMBS, and it transfers HECM loans into HMBS, which it then sells in the secondary market while retaining the servicing rights on the underlying HECM loans. Longbridge also originates and purchases non-FHA-insured reverse mortgage loans originated under guidelines established by private lenders, which the Company refers to as "Proprietary reverse mortgage loans." Proprietary reverse mortgage loans typically carry loan balances or credit lines that exceed FHA limits or have other characteristics that make them ineligible for FHA insurance.