Mortgage lender · Little Rock, AR · LEI 549300VYK2WBD7SST478

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

Bank OZK earns a C, in line with the typical performance of home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 37.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 13th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 1.30 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 89th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

5.0kApplications2025
52.1%Originatedof applications
37.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
5.99%Median ratenational 6.63%
$1.3BLoan volume23 states

Bank OZK at a glance, 2025

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

33.1%Denial rate (all applications)+15.14 pts vs national
37.8%Denial rate (decided applications)+15.20 pts vs national
52.1%Origination rate-5.93 pts vs national
11.6%Withdrawn by applicant
0.8%Closed for incompleteness
5.99%Median interest rate-0.63 pts vs national
-1.30Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-1.55 pts vs national
$125,000Median loan amount
$4,521Median total loan costs
$96kMedian applicant income
63%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

13th37.8% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

89th-1.30 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

51st12.4%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

38th3.62% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,88985741.4%46.4%8.25%$323M
20243,9901,84039.3%44.7%5.99%$397M
20255,0402,62633.1%37.8%5.99%$1.3B

What Bank OZK 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 1,772 35% · 22.5% denied
Refinance 881 17% · 26.0% denied
Cash-out refinance 143 3% · 42.0% denied
Home improvement 1,644 33% · 42.0% denied
Other / HELOC 600 12% · 48.5% denied

By loan type

Conventional 4,794 95% · 32.9% denied
FHA 183 4% · 39.3% denied
VA 39 1% · 20.5% denied
USDA / RHS 24 0% · 45.8% denied

Also: 2,679 home-equity lines, 1 reverse mortgages, 175 manufactured homes, 1,199 investment properties.

Why Bank OZK denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 1,669 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 727 44%
Credit history 541 32%
Collateral 226 14%
Incomplete application 84 5%
Other 50 3%
Unverifiable information 23 1%
Insufficient cash 11 1%
Employment history 7 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Bank OZK

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k78021466.6%
$50k – $100k1,26958445.1%
$100k – $150k78340536.9%
$150k – $250k64636032.9%
Over $250k50129229.6%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251063161.5%
25–3443417149.7%
35–4479135345.1%
45–5483135549.2%
55–6492246341.3%
65–7467434939.6%
Over 7435718836.5%

Where Bank OZK lends

23 states and 299 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Arkansas1,9071,00131.0%6.50%#13
Georgia1,39970738.7%5.99%#71
Florida84642937.8%5.99%#170
North Carolina50828430.3%5.99%#135
Texas29416014.6%6.50%#342
Tennessee191515.8%6.13%#544
Alabama14642.9%5.99%#430
South Carolina14814.3%7.38%#493
Oklahoma11236.4%6.50%#393
Missouri9311.1%8.00%#516
Louisiana530.0%6.63%#425

Frequently asked questions

Bank OZK denied 37.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 13th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Bank OZK gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 43.6% 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 OZK originated in 2025 was 5.99%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -1.30 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 35% of its applications were for home purchases, 20% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 45% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 95% conventional, 4% 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 OZK. Data sources · Methodology