Mortgage lender · Phoenix, AZ · LEI 549300HFXTV55C2HHM89

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

Desert Financial Credit Union 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 0.71 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 82nd percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

17kApplications2025
62.2%Originatedof applications
26.1%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.49%Median ratenational 6.63%
$1.5BLoan volume12 states

Desert Financial Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

24.4%Denial rate (all applications)+6.39 pts vs national
26.1%Denial rate (decided applications)+3.55 pts vs national
62.2%Origination rate+4.16 pts vs national
5.9%Withdrawn by applicant
0.9%Closed for incompleteness
6.49%Median interest rate-0.13 pts vs national
-0.71Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.96 pts vs national
$105,000Median loan amount
$5,672Median total loan costs
$106kMedian 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%

82nd-0.71 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

81st6.8%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

11th5.40% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202314,2346,80646.0%46.3%5.99%$729M
202414,8448,74730.4%31.4%6.38%$1.1B
202516,98910,56624.4%26.1%6.49%$1.5B

What Desert Financial 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 1,383 8% · 20.8% denied
Refinance 4,199 25% · 22.7% denied
Cash-out refinance 638 4% · 31.5% denied
Home improvement 7,342 43% · 23.8% denied
Other / HELOC 3,427 20% · 27.7% denied

By loan type

Conventional 16,862 99% · 24.2% denied
FHA 124 1% · 41.9% denied
VA 3 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 15,246 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 452 manufactured homes, 943 investment properties.

Why Desert Financial Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 4,140 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 1,754 42%
Collateral 1,073 26%
Credit history 955 23%
Other 193 5%
Incomplete application 124 3%
Unverifiable information 28 1%
Insufficient cash 8 0%
Employment history 5 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Desert Financial Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k1,86977348.1%
$50k – $100k5,8953,56028.1%
$100k – $150k4,1302,75121.7%
$150k – $250k3,4052,41517.4%
Over $250k1,5401,00520.8%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 25954244.2%
25–341,41176632.5%
35–443,5112,17127.7%
45–544,1652,63125.4%
55–643,8732,46125.2%
65–742,5871,68122.8%
Over 741,33980826.2%

Where Desert Financial Credit Union lends

12 states and 32 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Arizona16,97010,56624.3%6.49%#3

Frequently asked questions

Desert Financial Credit Union 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 Desert Financial Credit Union gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 42.4% 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 Desert Financial Credit Union originated in 2025 was 6.49%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.71 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 8% of its applications were for home purchases, 28% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 63% 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 Desert Financial Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology