Mortgage lender · Boston, MA · LEI X8V2II80XTQHRH7NCB19

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

Eastern Bank earns a B, better than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 33.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 23rd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.14 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.

6.8kApplications2025
58.4%Originatedof applications
33.1%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.99%Median ratenational 6.63%
$1.6BLoan volume5 states

Eastern Bank at a glance, 2025

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

31.7%Denial rate (all applications)+13.71 pts vs national
33.1%Denial rate (decided applications)+10.52 pts vs national
58.4%Origination rate+0.39 pts vs national
3.6%Withdrawn by applicant
0.7%Closed for incompleteness
6.99%Median interest rate+0.37 pts vs national
-0.14Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.39 pts vs national
$205,000Median loan amount
$4,459Median total loan costs
$149kMedian applicant income
66%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%

23rd33.1% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

66th-0.14 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

91st4.3%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

75th2.18% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20234,5552,93327.8%28.8%7.75%$1.1B
20245,1463,13029.4%31.0%8.25%$1.2B
20256,7943,96931.7%33.1%6.99%$1.6B

What Eastern 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 1,059 16% · 17.6% denied
Refinance 2,041 30% · 26.6% denied
Cash-out refinance 154 2% · 31.8% denied
Home improvement 2,273 33% · 38.1% denied
Other / HELOC 1,267 19% · 40.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 6,760 99% · 31.7% denied
FHA 31 0% · 35.5% denied
VA 3 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 5,736 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 1 manufactured homes, 233 investment properties.

Why Eastern Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 2,153 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 738 34%
Credit history 720 33%
Collateral 563 26%
Other 99 5%
Unverifiable information 26 1%
Employment history 5 0%
Insufficient cash 2 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Eastern Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k3248467.3%
$50k – $100k1,44367847.0%
$100k – $150k1,50783935.9%
$150k – $250k1,6431,03326.7%
Over $250k1,5871,12419.6%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 25322125.0%
25–3452229236.7%
35–441,32879034.9%
45–541,61088037.3%
55–641,62793233.0%
65–741,08967328.2%
Over 7443624931.1%

Where Eastern Bank lends

5 states and 36 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Massachusetts6,2163,62031.8%6.99%#5
New Hampshire47129428.7%6.99%#33
Rhode Island864736.1%6.64%#75
Connecticut20740.0%6.99%#300

Frequently asked questions

Eastern Bank denied 33.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 23rd percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Eastern Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 34.3% 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 Eastern Bank originated in 2025 was 6.99%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.14 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 16% of its applications were for home purchases, 32% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 52% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 99% 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 Eastern Bank. Data sources · Methodology