iStar Financial Provides First Quarter 2009 Earnings Update

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE: SFI),
a leading publicly traded finance company focused on the commercial real
estate industry, today provided an update on certain key operating results for
its first quarter of 2009.

iStar reported adjusted earnings (loss) allocable to common shareholders for
the first quarter of ($61.9) million, or ($0.59) per diluted common share. Net
income (loss) allocable to common shareholders for the first quarter was
($90.8) million, or ($0.86) per diluted common share. Adjusted earnings (loss)
represent net income computed in accordance with GAAP, adjusted primarily for
preferred dividends, depreciation, depletion, amortization, impairments of
goodwill and intangible assets, hedge ineffectiveness and gain (loss) from
discontinued operations. Please see the financial table at the end of this
press release for a detailed reconciliation of adjusted earnings to GAAP net
income.

During the quarter, the Company recorded $258 million of loan loss provisions,
including $237 million of asset specific provisions. In addition, the Company
recorded $25 million in other impairments, as well as $154 million of gains
associated with the early extinguishment of debt.

At March 31, 2009, non-performing loans represented $3.9 billion of managed
asset value, compared to $3.5 billion of managed asset value in the prior
quarter. Watch list assets represented $1.3 billion of managed asset value as
of March 31, 2009, compared to $1.3 billion of managed asset value in the
prior quarter. Managed asset values represent iStar's book values, plus the
A-participation interest associated with the Fremont portfolio assets.

The Company had $1.0 billion of cash and available capacity on its credit
facilities as of March 31, 2009. Total debt obligations at the end of the
quarter were $12.2 billion, including $4.8 billion of secured debt. In
addition, the Company confirmed that it is in compliance with all of its bank
and bond covenants.

As previously announced, the Company will not host a conference call to review
these advanced results. The Company will host a conference call to review its
full results and operations for the first quarter 2009 on April 30th, 2009 at
10:00 a.m. ET.

iStar Financial Inc.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings to GAAP Net Income
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)

Three Months Ended
March 31, 2009
--------------
ADJUSTED EARNINGS (1)

Net income (loss) ($87,071)
Add: Depreciation, depletion and amortization $23,499
Add: Joint venture depreciation, depletion and amortization $10,688
Add: Amortization of deferred financing costs $5,160
Add: Impairment of goodwill $4,186
Less: Gain from discontinued operations ($11,617)
Less: Preferred dividends ($10,580)

Adjusted earnings (loss) allocable to common shareholders,
HPU holders and participating security holders:
Basic ($65,735)
Diluted ($65,735)

Adjusted earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic (2) ($0.59)
Diluted (2) ($0.59)

Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic 105,606
Diluted 105,606

Common shares outstanding at end of period:
Basic 102,462
Diluted 102,462

(1) Adjusted earnings should be examined in conjunction with net income as
shown in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Adjusted earnings should
not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance
with GAAP) as an indicator of the Company's performance, or to cash flows from
operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of the
Company's liquidity, nor is this measure indicative of funds available to fund
the Company's cash needs or available for distribution to shareholders.
Rather, adjusted earnings is an additional measure the Company uses to analyze
how its business is performing. It should be noted that the Company's manner
of calculating adjusted earnings may differ from the calculations of
similarly-titled measures by other companies.

(2) For the three months ended March 31, 2009, excludes $1,664 of net loss
allocable to HPU holders and $2,158 of net loss allocable to participating
security holders, respectively.
* * *

iStar Financial Inc. is a leading publicly traded finance company focused on
the commercial real estate industry. The Company primarily provides
custom-tailored investment capital to high-end private and corporate owners of
real estate, including senior and mezzanine real estate debt, senior and
mezzanine corporate capital, as well as corporate net lease financing and
equity. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust
("REIT"), seeks to deliver strong dividends and superior risk-adjusted returns
on equity to shareholders by providing innovative and value added financing
solutions to its customers. Additional information on iStar Financial is
available on the Company's website at www.istarfinancial.com.

SOURCE iStar Financial Inc.

James D. Burns, Chief Financial Officer, or Andrew G. Backman, Senior Vice
President - Investor Relations, both of iStar Financial Inc., +1-212-930-9400