Mortgage lender · Cincinnati, OH · LEI QFROUN1UWUYU0DVIWD51

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

Fifth Third Bank earns a D, weaker than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 34.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 20th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.55 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 20th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

75kApplications2025
52.4%Originatedof applications
34.0%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.50%Median ratenational 6.63%
$8.0BLoan volume50 states

Fifth Third Bank at a glance, 2025

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

28.1%Denial rate (all applications)+10.13 pts vs national
34.0%Denial rate (decided applications)+11.45 pts vs national
52.4%Origination rate-5.62 pts vs national
12.0%Withdrawn by applicant
5.5%Closed for incompleteness
7.50%Median interest rate+0.88 pts vs national
0.55Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.30 pts vs national
$105,000Median loan amount
$3,970Median total loan costs
$95kMedian applicant income
66%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D 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%

20th34.0% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

20th0.55 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

24th17.4%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

33rd3.78% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202350,06928,05025.6%30.7%8.00%$4.9B
202456,15230,49427.3%32.7%8.40%$6.2B
202575,42639,53428.1%34.0%7.50%$8.0B

What Fifth Third 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 15,089 20% · 12.4% denied
Refinance 18,203 24% · 20.8% denied
Cash-out refinance 3,664 5% · 22.4% denied
Home improvement 22,592 30% · 37.5% denied
Other / HELOC 15,878 21% · 39.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 72,733 96% · 28.4% denied
FHA 2,063 3% · 21.3% denied
VA 557 1% · 12.2% denied
USDA / RHS 73 0% · 19.2% denied

Also: 46,326 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 853 manufactured homes, 3,122 investment properties.

Why Fifth Third Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 21,201 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 9,282 44%
Debt-to-income ratio 4,943 23%
Collateral 2,289 11%
Other 2,284 11%
Incomplete application 1,458 7%
Unverifiable information 662 3%
Employment history 250 1%
Insufficient cash 33 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Fifth Third Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k12,1134,76350.7%
$50k – $100k26,35613,68535.7%
$100k – $150k15,1528,46430.3%
$150k – $250k11,7496,86725.5%
Over $250k8,0554,57522.5%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251,05361025.3%
25–347,8724,23431.3%
35–4414,0437,26035.6%
45–5415,9428,39835.5%
55–6416,3138,55534.3%
65–7413,1576,91233.1%
Over 747,0053,54032.9%

Where Fifth Third Bank lends

50 states and 1,242 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Ohio21,93912,38925.6%7.50%#3
Michigan11,1766,10626.4%7.50%#5
Indiana8,6934,81727.6%7.75%#3
Illinois8,6284,11132.1%7.50%#7
Florida8,5543,55336.2%7.65%#24
Kentucky5,6633,15025.5%7.75%#4
North Carolina4,2462,21628.2%7.25%#26
Tennessee1,98497131.2%7.63%#37
Georgia1,65069134.0%7.25%#59
South Carolina1,46086319.3%6.50%#43
West Virginia34016431.2%7.88%#36
Texas1214714.9%6.25%#513
New York892615.7%6.75%#282
Alabama882833.0%6.56%#242
California885112.5%6.00%#461
Pennsylvania76399.2%6.13%#416
Wisconsin603610.0%6.50%#310
Missouri54307.4%6.50%#336
New Jersey532518.9%6.25%#346
Colorado483012.5%6.31%#307
Massachusetts481318.8%5.88%#331
Virginia46266.5%6.50%#386
Arizona44226.8%6.31%#328
Maryland301413.3%6.13%#370
Connecticut28828.6%5.83%#267
Minnesota211119.1%6.13%#386
Mississippi21149.5%6.88%#237
Washington2189.5%6.44%#384
Kansas16718.8%6.38%#309
Louisiana15513.3%6.75%#338
Maine1447.1%6.50%#189
Iowa13223.1%6.94%#335
New Mexico12816.7%6.75%#243
Utah1130.0%6.50%#283
Arkansas10620.0%6.75%#338
Oregon980.0%6.13%#379
District of Columbia760.0%6.19%#225
Nevada740.0%5.75%#341
Oklahoma7328.6%5.99%#449
Idaho6233.3%6.75%#310
Hawaii530.0%6.13%#191
Nebraska5320.0%5.99%#298
New Hampshire520.0%7.19%#333

Frequently asked questions

Fifth Third Bank denied 34.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 20th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Fifth Third Bank gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 43.8% 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 Fifth Third Bank originated in 2025 was 7.50%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.55 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 20% of its applications were for home purchases, 29% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 51% 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 Fifth Third Bank. Data sources · Methodology