Mortgage lender · Pierre, SD · LEI 5493007YN2BYYXCI7W64

Bankwest review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Bankwest earns an F, in the bottom tier of mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 48.6% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 2nd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 2.25 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 1st percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.8kApplications2025
36.6%Originatedof applications
48.6%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
8.00%Median ratenational 6.63%
$135MLoan volume14 states

Bankwest at a glance, 2025

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

34.6%Denial rate (all applications)+16.65 pts vs national
48.6%Denial rate (decided applications)+26.03 pts vs national
36.6%Origination rate-21.43 pts vs national
19.3%Withdrawn by applicant
9.5%Closed for incompleteness
8.00%Median interest rate+1.38 pts vs national
2.25Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+1.99 pts vs national
$95,000Median loan amount
$5,544Median total loan costs
$71kMedian applicant income
83%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the F 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%

2nd48.6% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

1st2.25 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

12th28.8%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

2nd5.84% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,54053145.9%57.0%7.85%$75M
20241,66363638.6%50.2%8.00%$140M
20251,77665034.6%48.6%8.00%$135M

What Bankwest 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 1,530 86% · 37.1% denied
Refinance 50 3% · 10.0% denied
Cash-out refinance 91 5% · 17.6% denied
Home improvement 64 4% · 25.0% denied
Other / HELOC 41 2% · 26.8% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,664 94% · 36.0% denied
FHA 80 5% · 15.0% denied
VA 10 1% · 10.0% denied
USDA / RHS 22 1% · 13.6% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 1,319 manufactured homes, 89 investment properties.

Why Bankwest denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 615 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 361 59%
Credit history 212 34%
Insufficient cash 14 2%
Collateral 8 1%
Employment history 7 1%
Other 7 1%
Unverifiable information 5 1%
Incomplete application 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Bankwest

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k4405084.9%
$50k – $100k75727946.7%
$100k – $150k32216925.6%
$150k – $250k1357517.6%
Over $250k422420.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251876550.4%
25–3449217351.3%
35–4433211455.3%
45–542949651.8%
55–642379144.2%
65–741415443.8%
Over 74452328.1%

Where Bankwest lends

14 states and 172 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
South Dakota78649414.0%7.25%#7
Minnesota5059354.7%8.25%#82
North Dakota732538.4%8.00%#57
Montana271018.5%8.25%#127
Wyoming27925.9%8.50%#93
Nebraska261042.3%8.25%#185
Iowa14635.7%7.38%#326

Frequently asked questions

Bankwest denied 48.6% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 2nd percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Bankwest gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 58.7% 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 Bankwest originated in 2025 was 8.00%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 2.25 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 86% of its applications were for home purchases, 8% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 6% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 94% conventional, 5% 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 Bankwest. Data sources · Methodology