Mortgage lender · Sheffield, AL · LEI 549300A7W1NQ3BYZCB68

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

Bank Independent earns a B, better than most mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 12.9% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 41st percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.08 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 75th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.2kApplications2025
74.6%Originatedof applications
12.9%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.49%Median ratenational 6.63%
$188MLoan volume11 states

Bank Independent at a glance, 2025

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

11.4%Denial rate (all applications)-6.60 pts vs national
12.9%Denial rate (decided applications)-9.74 pts vs national
74.6%Origination rate+16.55 pts vs national
11.5%Withdrawn by applicant
0.0%Closed for incompleteness
6.49%Median interest rate-0.13 pts vs national
0.08Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.17 pts vs national
$135,000Median loan amount
$4,518Median total loan costs
$90kMedian applicant income
72%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B 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%

41st12.9% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

75th0.08 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

76th11.5%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

17th3.35% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,07680210.9%12.1%7.99%$185M
20241,1138629.2%10.3%7.59%$162M
20251,23992411.4%12.9%6.49%$188M

What Bank Independent 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 562 45% · 9.4% denied
Refinance 375 30% · 5.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 30 2% · 30.0% denied
Home improvement 102 8% · 24.5% denied
Other / HELOC 170 14% · 20.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,142 92% · 11.0% denied
FHA 79 6% · 15.2% denied
VA 14 1% · 14.3% denied
USDA / RHS 4 0% · 50.0% denied

Also: 405 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 41 manufactured homes, 241 investment properties.

Why Bank Independent denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 141 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 78 55%
Debt-to-income ratio 43 30%
Collateral 8 6%
Other 5 4%
Unverifiable information 4 3%
Insufficient cash 2 1%
Employment history 1 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Bank Independent

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k22012332.3%
$50k – $100k35525712.8%
$100k – $150k1991617.8%
$150k – $250k1721477.4%
Over $250k96850.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 25624214.0%
25–3423017810.0%
35–4420815814.9%
45–5419815213.7%
55–6422115915.3%
65–741419715.0%
Over 74533814.9%

Where Bank Independent lends

11 states and 48 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Alabama1,20089511.6%6.49%#43
Tennessee16116.3%6.50%#569
Mississippi9611.1%7.00%#291
Florida540.0%6.06%#1,097

Frequently asked questions

Bank Independent denied 12.9% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 41st percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Bank Independent gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 55.3% 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 Independent originated in 2025 was 6.49%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.08 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 45% of its applications were for home purchases, 33% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 22% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 92% conventional, 6% 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 Independent. Data sources · Methodology