Mortgage lender · Providence, RI · LEI DRMSV1Q0EKMEXLAU1P80

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

Citizens Bank earns a C, in line with the typical performance of home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 32.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 27th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.36 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 29th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

120kApplications2025
57.6%Originatedof applications
32.5%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.50%Median ratenational 6.63%
$21BLoan volume51 states

Citizens Bank at a glance, 2025

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

28.7%Denial rate (all applications)+10.73 pts vs national
32.5%Denial rate (decided applications)+9.89 pts vs national
57.6%Origination rate-0.43 pts vs national
6.7%Withdrawn by applicant
4.9%Closed for incompleteness
7.50%Median interest rate+0.88 pts vs national
0.36Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.11 pts vs national
$185,000Median loan amount
$6,796Median total loan costs
$118kMedian applicant income
68%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%

27th32.5% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

29th0.36 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

55th11.6%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

36th3.67% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
2023126,68267,52035.2%39.2%8.25%$16B
202499,27555,18331.3%35.2%8.65%$15B
2025119,62068,90228.7%32.5%7.50%$21B

What Citizens 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 16,902 14% · 17.2% denied
Refinance 36,325 30% · 23.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 3,123 3% · 15.9% denied
Home improvement 33,498 28% · 34.1% denied
Other / HELOC 29,772 25% · 37.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 118,053 99% · 28.8% denied
FHA 1,300 1% · 20.9% denied
VA 267 0% · 13.1% denied

Also: 101,215 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 1 manufactured homes, 1,784 investment properties.

Why Citizens Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 34,344 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 19,323 56%
Collateral 7,295 21%
Credit history 4,668 14%
Other 1,792 5%
Unverifiable information 666 2%
Employment history 366 1%
Insufficient cash 117 0%
Incomplete application 117 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Citizens Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k14,9065,38157.9%
$50k – $100k33,53617,92437.0%
$100k – $150k24,42114,79328.7%
$150k – $250k23,97815,74023.6%
Over $250k21,11014,24619.8%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2557127737.2%
25–348,7224,91433.1%
35–4421,67412,94430.9%
45–5426,60816,04231.2%
55–6428,62316,84132.0%
65–7421,72111,93934.0%
Over 7411,4575,70137.3%

Where Citizens Bank lends

51 states and 1,643 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
New York20,31511,00032.7%7.97%#1
Pennsylvania18,25610,44128.1%7.65%#2
Massachusetts17,47610,23529.0%7.40%#1
New Jersey12,1137,20828.9%7.40%#4
Ohio7,7754,73224.3%7.65%#10
Michigan6,5923,69729.0%7.65%#7
Rhode Island6,3293,76227.8%7.40%#1
New Hampshire4,9693,19424.3%7.40%#1
Connecticut4,8953,03026.2%7.40%#2
Florida4,6742,29734.7%7.90%#45
Virginia1,63499424.4%7.65%#52
Delaware1,63397229.3%7.65%#3
North Carolina1,62493127.5%7.40%#60
Maryland1,45774532.8%8.40%#40
Georgia1,22266930.6%7.90%#77
South Carolina1,04060326.6%7.40%#57
Tennessee1,01157927.8%7.90%#65
Illinois83245429.8%7.40%#89
Vermont82639738.9%7.65%#5
California7795896.4%5.75%#196
Indiana67636228.4%7.90%#94
Kentucky52029726.2%7.90%#79
Maine41225522.8%7.40%#41
Minnesota33218929.5%7.90%#107
Alabama31717029.3%8.15%#117
Nebraska29018817.9%6.88%#58
Arkansas21610928.2%7.65%#106
District of Columbia1929235.4%7.20%#21
Texas18712111.2%6.38%#428
South Dakota1438123.1%6.88%#45
Iowa1237026.0%6.64%#135
Oklahoma1045119.2%8.15%#179
Missouri774513.0%6.38%#299
Wisconsin72528.3%6.31%#296
Colorado714214.1%6.25%#261
Mississippi693914.5%6.50%#151
Arizona462319.6%6.50%#323
Washington46278.7%6.13%#301
Oregon45354.4%6.63%#240
Nevada432025.6%6.08%#219
Utah352017.1%5.63%#206
Idaho311612.9%6.06%#192
Louisiana271218.5%6.31%#296
West Virginia261711.5%6.38%#183
Kansas19155.3%6.50%#303
New Mexico19915.8%6.50%#205
Montana14100.0%6.25%#161
Hawaii6250.0%7.28%#186
Wyoming5240.0%7.90%#187

Frequently asked questions

Citizens Bank denied 32.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 27th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Citizens Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 56.3% 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 Citizens Bank originated in 2025 was 7.50%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.36 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 14% of its applications were for home purchases, 33% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 53% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 99% conventional, 1% 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 Citizens Bank. Data sources · Methodology