Mortgage lender · Columbia, MS · LEI 549300E3YGSOYL74CF74

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

First Southern Bank earns a C, in line with the typical performance of small mortgage lenders. It turned down 15.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 31st percentile for approval odds. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

133Applications2025
73.7%Originatedof applications
15.0%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
Median ratenational 6.63%
$14MLoan volume1 states

First Southern Bank at a glance, 2025

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

13.5%Denial rate (all applications)-4.45 pts vs national
15.0%Denial rate (decided applications)-7.59 pts vs national
73.7%Origination rate+15.65 pts vs national
9.0%Withdrawn by applicant
0.8%Closed for incompleteness
Median interest rate
Median rate spread (pts over APOR)
$95,000Median loan amount
Median total loan costs
$96kMedian applicant income
Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 1,883 small mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

31st15.0% denied

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

58th9.8%

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231168617.2%18.7%$9.5M
20241118414.4%15.2%$10M
20251339813.5%15.0%$14M

What First Southern 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 36 27% · 16.7% denied
Refinance 73 55% · 6.9% denied
Cash-out refinance 2 2% · 100.0% denied
Home improvement 7 5% · 0.0% denied
Other / HELOC 15 11% · 33.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 131 98% · 13.7% denied
FHA 1 1% · 0.0% denied
USDA / RHS 1 1% · 0.0% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 0 manufactured homes, 43 investment properties.

Who gets approved at First Southern Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
$50k – $100k422528.6%
$100k – $150k272112.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
45–54231718.2%
55–64322615.6%

Where First Southern Bank lends

1 states and 15 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Mississippi1339813.5%#109

Frequently asked questions

First Southern Bank denied 15.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 31st percentile of small mortgage lenders.

In 2025, 27% of its applications were for home purchases, 56% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 17% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 98% 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 First Southern Bank. Data sources · Methodology