Ownership Submission
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

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
GORIN WILLIAM S
  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
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC., 350 PARK AVENUE, 20TH FLOOR
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
07/01/2013
(Street)

NEW YORK,, NY 10022
4. If Amendment, Date 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
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
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 07/01/2013   F(4)   10,468 D $ 8.54 669,383 D  

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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 Underlying Securities
(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) 07/01/2013   A   12,500     (2)   (2) Common Stock 12,500 $ 0 259,751 D  
Phantom Shares (1) 07/01/2013   A   25,000     (3)   (3) Common Stock 25,000 $ 0 284,751 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
GORIN WILLIAM S
C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC.
350 PARK AVENUE, 20TH FLOOR
NEW YORK,, NY 10022
  X     President  

Signatures

 /s/ William S. Gorin   07/03/2013
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* 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).
(1) Each phantom share represents the right to receive one share of MFA Financial, Inc. common stock.
(2) One-third of these phantom shares are scheduled to vest, subject to forfeiture, on each of June 30, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and thereafter will be settled in an equivalent number of shares of MFA common stock within 30 days of each respective vesting date.
(3) One-third of these phantom shares are scheduled to vest, subject to forfeiture, on each of June 30, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (subject, in each case, to MFA's achievement of specified performance goals), and thereafter will be settled in an equivalent number of shares of MFA common stock within 30 days of each respective vesting date.
(4) The reported disposition represents the surrender of shares to satisfy tax obligations arising from the vesting of one or more previously granted restricted stock awards.

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