Mortgage lender · Manitowoc, WI · LEI 549300BRLQAIJ1LJA253

Bank First review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Bank First earns an A, placing it in the top fifth of mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 9.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 54th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.02 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 80th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

2.2kApplications2025
82.6%Originatedof applications
9.2%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.88%Median ratenational 6.63%
$416MLoan volume19 states

Bank First at a glance, 2025

Every figure is from the lender's own HMDA filing. "vs national" compares with all lenders combined.

8.7%Denial rate (all applications)-9.33 pts vs national
9.2%Denial rate (decided applications)-13.41 pts vs national
82.6%Origination rate+24.58 pts vs national
5.3%Withdrawn by applicant
0.4%Closed for incompleteness
6.88%Median interest rate+0.25 pts vs national
0.02Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.23 pts vs national
$165,000Median loan amount
$2,360Median total loan costs
$104kMedian applicant income
71%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the A grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 581 mid-size mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

54th9.2% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

80th0.02 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

94th5.7%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

82nd1.43% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,9381,6366.9%7.4%7.50%$354M
20241,9961,6756.8%7.2%7.50%$332M
20252,2311,8438.7%9.2%6.88%$416M

What Bank First lends

Applications by purpose and loan type in 2025, with the denial rate for each. A lender's mix explains a lot of its headline rate: HELOCs and FHA loans are denied far more often than conventional purchase loans.

By loan purpose

Home purchase 1,014 45% · 3.5% denied
Refinance 510 23% · 9.2% denied
Cash-out refinance 98 4% · 16.3% denied
Home improvement 420 19% · 10.7% denied
Other / HELOC 189 8% · 26.5% denied

By loan type

Conventional 2,208 99% · 8.6% denied
FHA 5 0% · 40.0% denied
VA 18 1% · 5.6% denied

Also: 882 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 145 manufactured homes, 142 investment properties.

Why Bank First denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 193 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 88 46%
Debt-to-income ratio 76 39%
Collateral 20 10%
Other 5 3%
Insufficient cash 2 1%
Employment history 2 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Bank First

Decision denial rate by applicant profile. Groups with fewer than 20 applications are omitted.

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k24217419.3%
$50k – $100k77362511.1%
$100k – $150k5294458.2%
$150k – $250k3492994.6%
Over $250k2382064.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2595836.5%
25–344073495.3%
35–4447838611.1%
45–544413707.7%
55–6440432910.7%
65–7425319414.0%
Over 74856414.5%

Where Bank First lends

19 states and 86 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Wisconsin2,1841,8108.6%6.88%#23
Florida10520.0%6.95%#931
Arizona5220.0%6.31%#613
Michigan550.0%6.50%#610

Frequently asked questions

Bank First denied 9.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 54th percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Bank First gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 45.6% of its denials. Lenders report up to four reasons per denial to the CFPB; the full breakdown is on this page.

The median interest rate on loans Bank First originated in 2025 was 6.88%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.02 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 45% of its applications were for home purchases, 27% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 27% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 99% conventional, 0% FHA, 1% VA.

Every figure on this page comes from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan/Application Register published by the CFPB, which lenders are required by federal law to file. We add the grade and the comparisons; we do not add facts.

About this data. HMDA data is published once a year by the CFPB. The current release covers applications acted on in calendar year 2025. Figures describe applications the lender acted on, including loans it later sold. Interest rates and costs are medians on originated loans only; some depository institutions are exempt from reporting pricing fields, which is why a few cells read "—". MortgageGrades is not affiliated with Bank First. Data sources · Methodology