FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF 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 *   FINKEL SHIRA E 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 12/16/2010 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol MFA FINANCIAL, INC. [MFA] (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC., 350 PARK AVENUE, 21ST FLOOR 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Senior Vice President 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10022 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 Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share 11,719 D   Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share 3,250 I By 401(k) Plan

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option	10/01/2003	10/01/2013	Common Stock	7,500	$ 10.25	D	Â
Phantom Share (1)	  (2)	  (2)	Common Stock	6,366	$ 0	D	Â
Phantom Share (1)	  (3)	  (3)	Common Stock	18,500	$ 0	D	Â
Phantom Share (1)	  (4)	  (4)	Common Stock	9,250	$ 0	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
FINKEL SHIRA E C/O MFA FINANCIAL, INC. 350 PARK AVENUE, 21ST FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10022	Â	Â	  Senior Vice President	Â

Signatures

Shira Finkel		12/22/2010
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(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 is the economic equivalent of one share of MFA's common stock, par value $0.01 per share.
(2)	These phantom shares shall no longer be subject to forfeiture on December 31, 2010 and, thereafter, are payable on the earlier of termination of service with MFA or January 1, 2013.
(3)	These phantom shares shall no longer be subject to forfeiture on December 31, 2014 and, thereafter, are payable on the earlier of termination of service with MFA or January 4, 2016.
(4)	These phantom shares shall no longer be subject to forfeiture on December 31, 2014 (subject to MFA's achievement of specified performance goals) and, thereafter, are payable on the earlier of termination of service with MFA or January 4, 2016.

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