Exhibit 99.1

RAIT Financial Trust Announces First Quarter 2017 Financial Results and Declares First Quarter 2017 Dividend on RAIT’s Common Shares

First quarter senior loan originations increased to $120 million

Compensation and G&A expense declined 35.4% from the quarter ended December 31, 2016

Declared a first quarter 2017 dividend of $0.09 per common share

PHILADELPHIA, PA — May 3, 2017 — RAIT Financial Trust (“RAIT”) (NYSE: RAS) today announced first quarter 2017 financial results. All per share results are reported on a diluted basis.  In addition, on May 2, 2017, RAIT’s Board of Trustees declared a first quarter 2017 dividend of $0.09 per common share payable on June 15, 2017 to common shareholders of record on May 26, 2017.

During the first quarter, RAIT continued making significant progress executing on its comprehensive strategy to enhance shareholder value by transforming into a more focused, cost-efficient and lower leverage business concentrated on its core commercial real estate lending activities.  RAIT began executing this strategy in early 2016 and will continue this pursuit throughout 2017 as RAIT transforms into a pure-play commercial real estate lender.  

Q1 2017 Key Business Highlights

“We have continued to make progress executing on our strategy of refocusing the business on our core commercial real estate lending activities,” said Scott Davidson, RAIT’s Chief Executive Officer.  “We increased loan originations during the quarter while continuing to dispose of non-lending assets, reduced both recourse and non-recourse indebtedness and lowered our expenses.  We are committed to our transformation strategy and our Board and management team are confident that we are on the right path to position RAIT to grow long-term shareholder value.”

Financial Results for the Quarter

Additional Items

Q1 2017 Board and Management Changes

Commercial Real Estate (“CRE”) Lending Business

CRE Property Portfolio & Property Sales

CRE Asset Impairment, Loan Reserves and Loss on Deconsolidation of Properties

  Dividends

Selected Financial Information

See Schedule I to this Release for selected financial information for RAIT.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Definitions

RAIT discloses the following non-GAAP financial measures in this release: funds from operations (“FFO”), CAD and net operating income (“NOI”).  A reconciliation of RAIT’s reported net income (loss) allocable to common shares to its FFO and CAD is included as Schedule IV to this release. A reconciliation of RAIT’s same store NOI to its reported same store net income (loss) is included as Schedule VI to this release. See Schedule VI to this release for management’s respective definitions and rationales for the usefulness of each of these non-GAAP financial measures and other definitions used in this release.

Supplemental Information

RAIT produces supplemental information that includes details regarding the performance of the portfolio, financial information, non-GAAP financial measures and other useful information for investors.  The supplemental information also contains deconsolidating financial information. The supplemental information is available via the Company's website, www.rait.com, through the "Investor Relations" section.

Conference Call

All interested parties can listen to the live conference call webcast at 9:30 AM ET on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 from the home page of the RAIT Financial Trust website at www.rait.com or by dialing 1.844.775.2541, access code 6293691.  For those who are not available to listen to the live call, the replay will be available shortly following the live call on RAIT’s website and telephonically until Wednesday, May 10, 2017, by dialing 855.859.2056, access code 6293691.

About RAIT Financial Trust

RAIT Financial Trust is an internally-managed real estate investment trust focused on providing debt financing options to owners of commercial real estate throughout the United States.  For more information, please visit www.rait.com or call Investor Relations at 215.207.2100.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain 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. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as “2017 expectations,” “guidance,” “may,” “plan”, “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “seek,” “opportunities” or other similar words or terms. Because such statements include

risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  

RAIT’s forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding RAIT’s plans and initiatives and 2017 expectations to (i) simplify its business model, (ii) focus on its core commercial real estate lending business, (iii) increase loan origination levels, when compared to 2016, as capital from non-lending related asset sales is re-deployed, (iv) deleverage by using cash generated by asset sales to repay debt, (v) opportunistically divest and maximize the value of RAIT’s legacy REO portfolio and existing property management operations and, ultimately, minimize REO holdings, (vi) significantly reduce its total expense base, (vii) continue to sell non-lending assets, (viii) achieve significant annual expense savings in connection with the internalization of IRT, (ix) sell in whole or substantial part its Urban Retail property management business and achieve costs savings in connection with such sale,  (x) enhance its long-term prospects and create value for its shareholders and (xi) whether and when RAIT will be able to recognize a gain, which will offset the non-cash loss on deconsolidation of properties reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Such forward-looking statements are based upon RAIT’s historical performance and its current plans, estimates, predictions and expectations and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, predictions or expectations will be achieved. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may affect the results expressed or implied by RAIT’s forward-looking statements  include, but are not limited to: (i) whether RAIT will be able to continue to implement its strategy to transition RAIT to a more lender focused, simpler, and more cost-efficient business model, to deleverage and to generate enhanced returns for its shareholders; (ii) whether RAIT will be able to continue to opportunistically divest  RAIT’s legacy REO portfolio and existing property management operations and the majority of RAIT’s non-lending assets; (iii) whether anticipated cost savings from the internalization of IRT will be achieved; (iv) whether the divestiture of RAIT’s commercial real estate portfolio and other non-lending assets will lead to lower asset management costs and lower expenses; (v) whether RAIT will be able to reduce compensation and G&A expenses and indebtedness; (vi) whether RAIT’s changes to its Board composition and  leadership and to its executive management team will lead to enhanced value for shareholders; (vii) whether RAIT will be able to create sustainable earnings and grow book value; (viii) whether RAIT will be able to redeploy capital from non-lending related asset sales; (ix) whether RAIT will be able to increase loan origination levels; (x) whether the disposition of non-core assets, reductions in debt levels and expected loan repayments will impact RAIT’s earning and CAD; (xi) whether RAIT will continue to pay dividends and the amount of such dividends; (xii) whether RAIT will be able to organically increase reliance on match-funded asset-level debt; (xiii) overall conditions in commercial real estate and the economy generally; (xiv) whether market conditions will enable us to continue to implement our capital recycling and debt reduction plan involving selling properties and repurchasing or paying down our debt; (xv) whether we will be able to originate sufficient bridge loans; (xvi) changes in the expected yield of our investments; (xvii) changes in financial markets and interest rates, or to the business or financial condition of RAIT or its business; (xviii) whether RAIT will generate any CMBS gain on sale profits; (xix) whether our management changes will be successfully implemented; (xx) whether RAIT will be able to aggregate sufficient loans or whether market conditions will permit RAIT to complete future securitizations of floating rate loans; (xxi) whether and when RAIT will be able to recognize a gain, which will offset the non-cash loss on deconsolidation of properties reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2017; (xxii) whether RAIT will have any legal obligations on the non-recourse debt on its industrial real estate portfolio; (xxiii) RAIT may not be able to recognize a gain, which will offset the non-cash loss on deconsolidation of properties reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, until all the properties in the industrial portfolio are sold and the timing of such sales is controlled by the lender referenced above and RAIT may recognize additional similar non-cash losses on future sales of less than all of the remaining properties until all of such properties are sold; (xxiv) the availability of financing and capital, including through the capital and securitization markets; (xxv) risks, disruption, costs and uncertainty caused by or related to the actions of activist shareholders, including that if individuals are elected to our Board with a specific agenda, it may adversely affect our ability to effectively implement our business strategy and create value for our shareholders and perceived uncertainties as to our future direction as a result of potential changes to the composition of our Board may lead to the perception of a change in the direction of our business, instability or a lack of continuity which may be exploited by our competitors, cause concern to our current or potential customers, and may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners; and (xxvi) other factors described in RAIT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in other filings with the SEC. RAIT undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

RAIT Financial Trust Contact

Andres Viroslav

215-207-2100

aviroslav@rait.com

Schedule I

RAIT Financial Trust

Selected Financial Information

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Schedule II

RAIT Financial Trust

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Schedule III

RAIT Financial Trust

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Schedule IV

RAIT Financial Trust

Reconciliation of Net income (loss) Allocable to Common Shares and

Cash Available for Distribution and Funds From Operations (“FFO”)

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Schedule V

RAIT Financial Trust

Reconciliation of NOI to Net income (loss)

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Schedule VI

RAIT Financial Trust

Definitions

Assets Under Management

Assets under management, or AUM, is an operating measure representing the total assets that we own or are managing for third parties. While not all AUM generates fee income, it is an important operating measure to gauge our asset growth, volume of originations, size and scale of our operations and our performance. AUM includes our total investment portfolio, assets associated with unconsolidated securitizations for which we derive asset management fees and real estate properties we manage on behalf of third parties.

Cash Available for Distribution

Cash available for distribution, or CAD, is a non-GAAP financial measure. We believe that CAD provides investors and management with a meaningful indicator of operating performance. Management also uses CAD, among other measures, to evaluate profitability and our board of trustees considers CAD in determining our quarterly cash distributions. We also believe that CAD is useful because it adjusts for a variety of noncash items (such as depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation, provision for loan losses and non-cash interest income and expense items). In addition, the compensation committee of our board of trustees used CAD as a metric in establishing quantitative performance based awards for certain of our executive officers beginning in 2015.  

We calculate CAD by subtracting from or adding to net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders the following items: depreciation and amortization items including depreciation and amortization expense, straight-line rental income or expense, amortization of deferred financing costs, and amortization of discounts on financings; origination fees; equity-based compensation; changes in the fair value of our financial instruments; realized gains (losses) on assets; provision for loan losses; asset impairments; acquisition gains or losses and transaction costs; deferred income tax benefit (provision); certain fee income eliminated in consolidation that is attributable to third parties; and one-time events pursuant to changes in U.S. GAAP and certain other non-routine items. In the quarter ended March 31, 2016, we changed our method of calculating CAD to exclude the impact of real property sales from CAD.  We made this change in response to investor feedback to focus CAD on our core business activities.  In addition, we provide guidance regarding our expected CAD in future periods and this change removes variability resulting from the ultimate timing of future property sales.

CAD should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or cash generated from operating activities, determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, as an indicator of operating performance. For example, CAD does not adjust for the accrual of income and expenses that may not be received or paid in cash during the associated periods. Please refer to our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP in our most recent report on Form 10-K or Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, our methodology for calculating CAD may differ from the methodologies used by other comparable companies, including other REITs, when calculating the same or similar supplemental financial measures and may not be comparable with these companies.

Funds from Operations

We believe that funds from operations, or FFO, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, is an additional appropriate measure of the operating performance of a REIT. We compute FFO in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, as net income or loss allocated to common shares (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding real estate-related depreciation expense, gains or losses on sales of real estate, asset impairment and the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles. Our management utilizes FFO as a measure of our operating performance. FFO is not an equivalent to net income or cash generated from operating activities determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, FFO does not represent amounts available for management’s discretionary use because of needed capital replacement or expansion, debt service obligations or other commitments or uncertainties. FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income as an indicator of our operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.

Gross Real Estate Investments

Gross real estate investments equal investments in real estate, net plus accumulated depreciation as it appears on the consolidated balance sheet. The following table provides a reconciliation of investments in real estate, net to total gross real estate investments.

Net Operating Income

Net Operating Income (“NOI”), a non-GAAP financial measure, is a useful measure of the operating performance of its real estate portfolio. NOI is defined as total property revenue less total real estate operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization and interest expense. Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating NOI, and accordingly, our NOI may not be comparable to other REITs. We believe that this measure provides an operating perspective not immediately apparent from GAAP operating income or net income. We use NOI to evaluate our real estate portfolio performance on a same store and non-same store basis because NOI measures the core operations of property performance by excluding corporate level expenses and other items not related to property operating performance and captures trends in rental rates and property operating expenses.

Same Store Properties and Same Store Portfolio

RAIT reviews its same store properties or portfolio at the beginning of each calendar year.  Properties are added into the same store portfolio if they were owned at the beginning of the previous year.  Properties that have been sold are excluded from the same store portfolio.  Properties included in the redevelopment portfolio are not part of the same store portfolio.

Total Gross Assets

Total Gross Assets equals total assets plus accumulated depreciation as these captions are reported on the consolidated balance sheet.  The following table provides a reconciliation of total assets to total gross assets.