Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust Declares Third Quarter 2021 Common Dividend of $0.355 Per Share

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc (“BSPRT” or the “Company”) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a third quarter 2021 common dividend of $0.355 per common share. The dividend is payable on or about October 1, 2021 to common stockholders of record as of September 30, 2021.

Important Additional Information About the Merger and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger transaction contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 25, 2021, by and among BSPRT, Rodeo Sub I, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of BSPRT (“Merger Sub”), Capstead Mortgage Corporation (“Capstead”) and, solely for the purposes set forth therein, Benefit Street Partners L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company, pursuant to which, subject to the terms and conditions therein, Capstead will be merged with and into Merger Sub, with Merger Sub continuing as the surviving company (such transaction, the “Merger”), BSPRT has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-258947), which was declared effective by the SEC on September 3, 2021. The registration statement includes a prospectus of BSPRT and a proxy statement of Capstead. Capstead and BSPRT also expect to file with the SEC other documents regarding the Merger.

STOCKHOLDERS OF CAPSTEAD ARE ADVISED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS (INCLUDING ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS) CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CAPSTEAD, BSPRT, THE PROPOSED MERGER AND RELATED MATTERS. Stockholders of BSPRT and Capstead may obtain free copies of the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by Capstead or BSPRT on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Capstead are available free of charge on Capstead’s website at http://www.capstead.com/investor-relations/financial-reports/sec-filings. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by BSPRT are available free of charge on BSPRT’s website at https://benefitstreetpartners.com/our-business/funds/bsprt/bsprt-investor-relations/.

Participants in the Solicitation Relating to the Merger

Capstead, BSPRT and their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be “participants” in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Capstead in connection with the proposed Merger. Information regarding Capstead and its directors and executive officers and their ownership of common stock of Capstead can be found in Capstead’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in its definitive proxy statement relating to its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders filed with the SEC on April 1, 2021. Information regarding BSPRT and its directors and executive officers and their ownership of common stock of BSPRT can be found in BSPRT’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in its definitive proxy statement relating to its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders filed with the SEC on April 8, 2021. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC regarding the proposed merger on September 7, 2021. Stockholders of Capstead should read the proxy statement/prospectus carefully before making any voting or investment decisions. Investors may obtain free copies of these documents from BSPRT or Capstead using the sources indicated above.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication and the information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or a solicitation of a proxy or of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made, except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed merger.

About Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust

Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. (“BSPRT”) is a publicly-registered, private real estate investment trust that originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt secured by properties located in the United States. As of June 30, 2021, BSPRT had over $3 billion of assets. BSPRT is externally managed by Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. For further information, please visit www.bsprealtytrust.com.

About Benefit Street Partners

Benefit Street Partners L.L.C (“BSP”) is a leading credit-focused alternative asset management firm with over $34 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2021. BSP manages assets across a broad range of complementary credit strategies, including private/opportunistic debt, structured credit, high yield, special situations, and commercial real estate. Based in New York, the BSP platform was established in 2008. BSP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton. For further information, please visit www.benefitstreetpartners.com.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and over $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of August 31, 2021. For more information, please visit franklinresources.com.

About Capstead

Formed in 1985 and based in Dallas, Texas, Capstead Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: CMO) is a self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. Capstead earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of primarily residential adjustable-rate mortgage pass-through securities, referred to as ARM securities, issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or by an agency of the federal government, Ginnie Mae.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements can generally be identified as forward-looking because they include words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “would,” “could,” or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements include or may relate to statements about the benefits of the proposed merger involving BSPRT and Capstead and statements that address operating performance, events or developments that BSPRT expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to statements regarding future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, anticipated leadership and governance changes, changes to outstanding structure of BSPRT’s capital stock, creation of value for stockholders, operation and implementation of share repurchase programs, benefits of the proposed merger to customers, stockholders and other constituents of the combined company, the integration of BSPRT and Capstead, and other non-historical statements. These statements are based on the companies’ current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements; BSPRT can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BSPRT’s expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk that the merger will not be consummated within the expected time period or at all; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the proposed merger, including the approval of the stockholders of Capstead; risks related to the disruption of management’s attention from ongoing business operations due to the proposed merger; the availability of suitable investment or disposition opportunities; changes in interest rates; the availability and terms of financing; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations and financial condition of each of BSPRT and Capstead and the industries in which they operate; general financial and economic conditions, which may be affected by government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; market conditions; legislative and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business of BSPRT or Capstead; and other factors, including those set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the proxy statement/prospectus, BSPRT’s and Capstead’s most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as amended, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, and other reports filed by BSPRT and Capstead with the SEC, copies of which are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results and speak only as of the date such statements are made. Except as required by law, neither BSPRT nor Capstead undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this communication, whether to reflect new information, future events, changes in assumptions or circumstances or otherwise

Contacts

Amy Theaumont

Vice President, Investor Relations

(617) 433-2543

a.theaumont@benefitstreetpartners.com