Mortgage lender · Boston, MA · LEI 549300TR6MWKSIOP3B72

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

Brookline Bank earns a B, better than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 26.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 46th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.16 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 66th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.3kApplications2025
62.3%Originatedof applications
26.1%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.75%Median ratenational 6.63%
$417MLoan volume10 states

Brookline Bank at a glance, 2025

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

22.4%Denial rate (all applications)+4.44 pts vs national
26.1%Denial rate (decided applications)+3.48 pts vs national
62.3%Origination rate+4.24 pts vs national
7.7%Withdrawn by applicant
6.3%Closed for incompleteness
6.75%Median interest rate+0.13 pts vs national
-0.16Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.41 pts vs national
$225,000Median loan amount
$4,112Median total loan costs
$158kMedian applicant income
63%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B 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%

46th26.1% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

66th-0.16 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

43rd14.0%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

82nd1.83% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202359436222.9%26.6%7.93%$143M
202460037919.7%23.4%8.25%$185M
20251,28079722.4%26.1%6.75%$417M

What Brookline Bank 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 264 21% · 12.9% denied
Refinance 348 27% · 19.5% denied
Cash-out refinance 8 1% · 25.0% denied
Home improvement 479 37% · 26.3% denied
Other / HELOC 181 14% · 31.5% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,278 100% · 22.4% denied
FHA 1 0% · 100.0% denied
VA 1 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 978 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 1 manufactured homes, 60 investment properties.

Why Brookline Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 287 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 138 48%
Credit history 69 24%
Collateral 58 20%
Other 13 5%
Incomplete application 7 2%
Insufficient cash 1 0%
Unverifiable information 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Brookline Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k842761.6%
$50k – $100k26312341.4%
$100k – $150k23715722.8%
$150k – $250k30421816.0%
Over $250k33323815.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
25–34895922.4%
35–4423114728.2%
45–5427117624.8%
55–6431919525.8%
65–7422513227.9%
Over 741166429.2%

Where Brookline Bank lends

10 states and 63 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Massachusetts83252821.6%7.00%#58
Rhode Island19212716.2%6.75%#52
New York1347335.8%6.25%#240
Connecticut754022.7%4.75%#198
Vermont241429.2%4.50%#74
New Hampshire161112.5%7.00%#219

Frequently asked questions

Brookline Bank denied 26.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 46th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Brookline Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 48.1% 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 Brookline Bank originated in 2025 was 6.75%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.16 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 21% of its applications were for home purchases, 28% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 52% 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 Brookline Bank. Data sources · Methodology