Mortgage lender · Falcon Heights, MN · LEI 549300QDGMFASKEN7Z77

Blaze Credit Union review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Blaze Credit Union earns a B, better than most mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 14.3% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 37th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.15 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 70th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

4.3kApplications2025
66.0%Originatedof applications
14.3%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.38%Median ratenational 6.63%
$453MLoan volume37 states

Blaze Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

12.4%Denial rate (all applications)-5.59 pts vs national
14.3%Denial rate (decided applications)-8.25 pts vs national
66.0%Origination rate+7.93 pts vs national
8.5%Withdrawn by applicant
5.2%Closed for incompleteness
6.38%Median interest rate-0.25 pts vs national
0.15Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.11 pts vs national
$105,000Median loan amount
$628Median total loan costs
$116kMedian applicant income
69%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%

37th14.3% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

70th0.15 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

66th13.6%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

97th0.60% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20232,8821,65920.1%23.4%7.25%$178M
20243,5082,31113.8%16.0%7.90%$295M
20254,2862,82712.4%14.3%6.38%$453M

What Blaze Credit Union 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 727 17% · 3.4% denied
Refinance 282 7% · 9.2% denied
Cash-out refinance 773 18% · 13.5% denied
Home improvement 1,356 32% · 8.9% denied
Other / HELOC 1,148 27% · 22.2% denied

By loan type

Conventional 4,276 100% · 12.4% denied
FHA 6 0% · 16.7% denied
VA 4 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 1,553 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 2 manufactured homes, 105 investment properties.

Why Blaze Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 531 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 301 57%
Credit history 141 27%
Collateral 59 11%
Other 19 4%
Employment history 6 1%
Insufficient cash 5 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Blaze Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k34113943.1%
$50k – $100k1,34781619.2%
$100k – $150k1,11680210.9%
$150k – $250k9557216.0%
Over $250k4142786.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2556348.2%
25–3445826717.7%
35–4496263715.2%
45–541,06472314.9%
55–6491663012.3%
65–7454635313.4%
Over 7421513515.3%

Where Blaze Credit Union lends

37 states and 163 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Minnesota4,0742,69412.3%6.38%#7
Wisconsin1036615.5%6.13%#254
Florida22149.1%5.56%#747
Arizona9611.1%6.31%#520
Illinois740.0%6.44%#722
Iowa5420.0%5.56%#414
Michigan520.0%4.62%#591

Frequently asked questions

Blaze Credit Union denied 14.3% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 37th percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Blaze Credit Union gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 56.7% 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 Blaze Credit Union originated in 2025 was 6.38%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.15 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 17% of its applications were for home purchases, 25% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 58% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 100% conventional, 0% FHA, 0% 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 Blaze Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology