Thornburg Mortgage Elects Two New Directors.

Business Editors

SANTA FE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2003

Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. (NYSE:TMA) announced today that Anne-Drue M. Anderson and Eliot R. Cutler have been elected to the company's Board of Directors. Larry Goldstone, president and chief operating officer of the company, commented, "We are extremely pleased with the additions of Ms. Anderson and Mr. Cutler to our board. Ms. Anderson brings a wealth of experience in residential lending and corporate management to our organization, and Mr. Cutler's background in business and law should prove valuable as we continue to build our mortgage lending business."

Ms. Anderson has had a long and distinguished career in residential lending and banking spanning almost 20 years. Most recently Ms. Anderson served as President of the Neighborhood Housing Services of America, a non-profit housing related firm in Oakland, Calif. Prior to that she was an executive vice president and director of residential lending for H.F. Ahmanson & Company and Home Savings of America, one of the nation's largest full service consumer banks. She joined Home Savings as treasurer in 1993 and in 1995 became the first female executive vice president in the 109-year history of company. During her tenure at Home Savings, Ms. Anderson managed numerous areas including secondary marketing, funds management, capital markets, online banking, corporate marketing, brand management and advertising. In 1997 she assumed responsibility for residential lending. Prior to joining Home Savings, Ms. Anderson was the Bank and Thrift Strategist for CS First Boston in New York. Prior to that she spent several years as senior vice president and treasurer for First Gibraltar Bank in Dallas.

Ms. Anderson has been an Executive Committee member of the University of Texas Business School Alumni Board and currently serves as a director of Enterprise Development International, a non-profit micro lender that assists individuals in extreme poverty in numerous third world countries to create small businesses through subsidized lending and business training. She also serves on Enterprise's Finance Committee.

Mr. Cutler is a leading environmental lawyer and acknowledged expert in project development whose career in business, politics, public service and law spans 35 years. He is currently a partner in the Washington office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a preeminent law firm in matters involving the development of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Beginning in 1977, Mr. Cutler served in the White House as Associate Director of OMB under President Carter. Until his departure in 1980, he was the principal White House official in the environmental, energy and natural resources areas. During this time, Mr. Cutler also directed the President's Energy Coordinating Committee and represented the U.S. in international summit negotiations concerning energy and environmental matters. Prior to that he served as counsel to Senator Edmund Muskie's Subcommittee on the Environment and was a principal contributor to the drafting of landmark environmental statutes, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act and the Water Quality Act.

Mr. Cutler has been General Counsel of the International Council of Shopping Centers and was the first American member of the Board of Directors of Skanska AB, the world's second largest construction company. He is currently a director of Thornburg Limited Term Municipal Fund and previously served as a director of the United Electric Company, the International Law Institute and Capital Ventures, Inc. Mr. Cutler is also the Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.

Thornburg Mortgage is a single-family residential mortgage lender focused principally on the jumbo segment of the mortgage market. Backed by a sizeable balance sheet of $17.3 billion in assets, the company seeks to deliver attractive dividend income and steady growth for its shareholders through the acquisition and origination of high credit quality adjustable-rate mortgage assets. Capitalizing on its innovative lending model and REIT tax structure, Thornburg Mortgage is an efficient provider of specialized mortgage loan products for borrowers with excellent credit, and is positioned to become one of the top 50 mortgage lenders in the country. We invite you to visit the company's website at www.thornburgmortgage.com.