Mortgage lender · Kansas City, MO · LEI 7DMUJTL9FFTVIAG9H788

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

Commerce Bank earns a D, weaker than most mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 33.3% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 7th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.15 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 69th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

7.3kApplications2025
51.7%Originatedof applications
33.3%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.50%Median ratenational 6.63%
$761MLoan volume42 states

Commerce Bank at a glance, 2025

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

26.2%Denial rate (all applications)+8.25 pts vs national
33.3%Denial rate (decided applications)+10.66 pts vs national
51.7%Origination rate-6.34 pts vs national
12.5%Withdrawn by applicant
8.6%Closed for incompleteness
6.50%Median interest rate-0.13 pts vs national
0.15Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.10 pts vs national
$75,000Median loan amount
$3,261Median total loan costs
$95kMedian applicant income
63%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D 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%

7th33.3% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

69th0.15 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

30th21.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

7th4.35% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20238,6094,37929.2%36.1%6.63%$800M
20248,0764,10128.2%35.3%6.63%$811M
20257,3303,78926.2%33.3%6.50%$761M

What Commerce 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 1,709 23% · 13.1% denied
Refinance 1,569 21% · 15.6% denied
Cash-out refinance 266 4% · 32.3% denied
Home improvement 2,101 29% · 35.5% denied
Other / HELOC 1,685 23% · 37.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 7,047 96% · 26.0% denied
FHA 223 3% · 36.8% denied
VA 46 1% · 15.2% denied
USDA / RHS 14 0% · 14.3% denied

Also: 3,410 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 21 manufactured homes, 269 investment properties.

Why Commerce Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 1,923 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 958 50%
Other 626 33%
Collateral 169 9%
Credit history 149 8%
Unverifiable information 12 1%
Employment history 9 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Commerce Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k1,29443058.1%
$50k – $100k2,3891,14437.7%
$100k – $150k1,29872927.2%
$150k – $250k1,22571722.8%
Over $250k79252011.3%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251345342.1%
25–3483041034.3%
35–441,32565035.3%
45–541,44779531.8%
55–641,51678635.7%
65–741,28265233.6%
Over 7470535628.6%

Where Commerce Bank lends

42 states and 359 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Missouri4,9052,48827.2%6.72%#10
Kansas1,38375124.4%6.38%#13
Illinois45819438.4%6.87%#140
Colorado26816112.7%6.38%#154
Oklahoma894527.0%6.50%#200
Texas402310.0%6.13%#739
Florida342211.8%6.19%#662
California17120.0%6.00%#662
Arizona16136.3%6.38%#440
Arkansas14130.0%6.13%#310
Michigan950.0%6.50%#527
Pennsylvania950.0%6.13%#713
Iowa8512.5%6.13%#382
Indiana760.0%6.25%#608
South Carolina6316.7%6.13%#604
New York530.0%6.38%#524
Tennessee5140.0%4.99%#754

Frequently asked questions

Commerce Bank denied 33.3% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 7th percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Commerce Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 49.8% 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 Commerce Bank originated in 2025 was 6.50%, 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, 23% of its applications were for home purchases, 25% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 52% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 96% conventional, 3% 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 Commerce Bank. Data sources · Methodology