Mortgage lender · Syracuse, NY · LEI 549300YKTME1U7Z0UN20

Empower Federal Credit Union review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Empower Federal Credit Union earns a B, better than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 17.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 74th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.05 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 55th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

4.3kApplications2025
72.5%Originatedof applications
17.2%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$403MLoan volume6 states

Empower Federal Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

15.5%Denial rate (all applications)-2.53 pts vs national
17.2%Denial rate (decided applications)-5.38 pts vs national
72.5%Origination rate+14.50 pts vs national
5.7%Withdrawn by applicant
4.6%Closed for incompleteness
7.25%Median interest rate+0.63 pts vs national
0.05Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.20 pts vs national
$85,000Median loan amount
$3,086Median total loan costs
$83kMedian applicant income
73%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%

74th17.2% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

55th0.05 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

64th10.2%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

37th3.63% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20234,3683,05015.5%18.0%6.74%$318M
20244,1162,91617.1%19.2%7.74%$353M
20254,3173,13115.5%17.2%7.25%$403M

What Empower Federal 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 926 21% · 5.9% denied
Refinance 111 3% · 13.5% denied
Cash-out refinance 850 20% · 11.7% denied
Home improvement 1,618 37% · 16.8% denied
Other / HELOC 812 19% · 27.8% denied

By loan type

Conventional 4,317 100% · 15.5% denied

Also: 2,426 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 96 manufactured homes, 74 investment properties.

Why Empower Federal Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 667 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 340 51%
Debt-to-income ratio 152 23%
Collateral 134 20%
Other 30 4%
Unverifiable information 5 1%
Insufficient cash 4 1%
Employment history 2 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Empower Federal Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k74738338.8%
$50k – $100k1,8951,39616.0%
$100k – $150k8847128.9%
$150k – $250k5664697.6%
Over $250k1511209.6%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251098015.2%
25–3462847614.3%
35–441,06275919.4%
45–5493564721.8%
55–6493968615.1%
65–7448436013.5%
Over 7414410912.5%

Where Empower Federal Credit Union lends

6 states and 69 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
New York4,2763,10315.4%7.25%#19
Florida17135.9%6.50%#790
Pennsylvania12633.3%6.88%#664
Connecticut8525.0%7.50%#391

Frequently asked questions

Empower Federal Credit Union denied 17.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 74th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Empower Federal Credit Union gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 51.0% 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 Empower Federal Credit Union originated in 2025 was 7.25%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.05 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 21% of its applications were for home purchases, 22% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 56% 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 Empower Federal Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology