Chimera Investment Corporation Announces 4th Quarter Dividend of $0.04 Per Share

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Board of Directors of Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) declared the fourth quarter 2008 common stock cash dividend of $0.04 per common share. This dividend is payable January 29, 2009 to common shareholders of record on December 30, 2008. The ex-dividend date is December 26, 2008.

Matthew J. Lambiase, Chimera's Chief Executive Officer and President, commented on the dividend. "Our fourth quarter dividend reflects our strategy of patient deployment of the capital raised in our recent secondary offering. As we discussed in our recent earnings call, we believe this patience will serve the company well, because potential investment returns are improving with the continued pressure on credit-sensitive mortgage assets."

The Company distributes dividends based on its current estimate of taxable earnings per common share, not GAAP earnings. Taxable and GAAP earnings will differ because of non-taxable unrealized and realized losses, differences in premium amortization, and non-deductible general and administrative expenses.

Chimera Investment Corporation invests in residential mortgage loans, residential mortgage-backed securities, real estate-related securities and various other asset classes. The Company's principal business objective is to generate income from the spread between yields on its investments and its cost of borrowing and hedging activities. The Company, a Maryland corporation that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), currently has 177,170,098 shares of common stock outstanding.

This news release and our public documents to which we refer contain or incorporate by reference certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond our control) may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "continue," "intend," "should," "may," "would," "will" or similar expressions, or variations on those terms or the negative of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, our absence of an operating history, our use of leverage, changes in the yield curve, the availability of mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities and other real estate assets for purchase, changes in the market value of our assets, our ability to obtain financing and the terms of financing, general volatility of the securities markets in which we invest, interest rate mismatches between our assets and our borrowings used to fund such purchases, changes in interest rates and mortgage prepayment rates, effects of interest rate caps on our adjustable-rate mortgage-backed securities, rates of default or decreased recovery rates on our investments, prepayments of mortgage assets and the mortgage and other loans underlying our mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities, the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate volatility, changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates and similar matters, market trends in our industry, interest rates, the debt securities markets or the general economy, and our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007 and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim all obligations, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

    Source: Chimera Investment Corporation

Released December 19, 2008