MFA-B MFA Financial Inc

FORM 4 [ ] Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0287 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Roper Michael Charles	2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol MFA FINANCIAL, INC. [ MFA ]	5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director                    _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below)    _____ Other (specify below) Sr VP & Chief Accounting Ofcr
(Last)          (First)          (Middle) C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC., ONE VANDERBILT AVENUE, 48TH FLOOR	3. Date of Earliest Transaction (MM/DD/YYYY) 1/3/2023
(Street) NEW YORK, NY 10017 (City)        (State)        (Zip)	4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	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. Trans. Date	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any	3. Trans. 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

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Trans. Date	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any	4. Trans. 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		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 of Derivative Security: 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	(1)	1/3/2023		A		15749		(2)	(2)	Common Stock	15749	$0	50919 (3)	D
Phantom Shares	(1)	1/3/2023		A		30189 (4)(5)		(4)(5)	(4)(5)	Common Stock	30189 (4)(5)	$0	81108	D

Explanation of Responses:
(1)	Each phantom share represents the right to receive one share of MFA Financial, Inc. common stock.
(2)	These phantom shares are scheduled to vest, subject to forfeiture, on December 31, 2025, and thereafter will be settled in an equivalent number of shares of MFA common stock within 30 days following the vesting date.
(3)	Number of securities beneficially owned has been adjusted to reflect the issuer's 1-for-4 reverse stock split effected on April 4, 2022.
(4)	These phantom shares are performance-based equity awards. The number of phantom shares reported represents the "target" number of phantom shares granted. The number of underlying shares of MFA common stock that the recipient becomes entitled to receive at the time of vesting will generally range from 0% to 200% of the target number of phantom shares granted, subject to the achievement of a pre-established performance metric. The vesting of these phantom shares will generally occur on December 31, 2025, based on MFA's absolute total stockholder return (TSR) and MFA's TSR as compared to the TSR of a designated peer group of companies, in each case for the three years then ended.
(5)	The number of phantom shares to vest will be adjusted to reflect the value of any dividends paid on MFA's common stock during the vesting period in respect of the number of phantom shares that ultimately vest. The phantom shares will be settled in an equivalent number of shares of MFA common stock in January 2027.

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Roper Michael Charles C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC. ONE VANDERBILT AVENUE, 48TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10017			Sr VP & Chief Accounting Ofcr

Signatures
/s/ Michael C. Roper		1/5/2023
**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).
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