Mortgage lender · Fargo, ND · LEI 549300TQVOMKNKFOH392

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

Gate City Bank earns a C, in line with the typical performance of mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 12.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 41st percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.26 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 48th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

4.0kApplications2025
76.1%Originatedof applications
12.7%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.65%Median ratenational 6.63%
$637MLoan volume27 states

Gate City Bank at a glance, 2025

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

11.3%Denial rate (all applications)-6.68 pts vs national
12.7%Denial rate (decided applications)-9.85 pts vs national
76.1%Origination rate+18.10 pts vs national
9.8%Withdrawn by applicant
1.5%Closed for incompleteness
6.65%Median interest rate+0.03 pts vs national
0.26Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.01 pts vs national
$125,000Median loan amount
$4,465Median total loan costs
$120kMedian applicant income
78%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 581 mid-size mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

41st12.7% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

48th0.26 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

77th11.3%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

13th3.57% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20233,7392,9139.2%10.4%6.75%$545M
20244,0483,05611.9%13.3%6.70%$562M
20254,0013,04611.3%12.7%6.65%$637M

What Gate City 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 1,637 41% · 3.7% denied
Refinance 604 15% · 13.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 138 3% · 18.1% denied
Home improvement 988 25% · 14.7% denied
Other / HELOC 634 16% · 22.4% denied

By loan type

Conventional 3,698 92% · 11.7% denied
FHA 215 5% · 6.5% denied
VA 82 2% · 2.4% denied
USDA / RHS 6 0% · 33.3% denied

Also: 728 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 58 manufactured homes, 239 investment properties.

Why Gate City Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 452 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 181 40%
Credit history 168 37%
Collateral 70 15%
Other 23 5%
Incomplete application 5 1%
Employment history 2 0%
Insufficient cash 2 0%
Unverifiable information 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Gate City Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k22913336.7%
$50k – $100k1,15383916.8%
$100k – $150k1,04281110.6%
$150k – $250k1,0018086.3%
Over $250k2812337.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251571285.9%
25–348436659.3%
35–441,13785213.7%
45–5475758613.7%
55–6453640714.1%
65–7430722015.0%
Over 74886218.0%

Where Gate City Bank lends

27 states and 158 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
North Dakota3,1062,36811.3%6.65%#1
Minnesota81062511.2%6.75%#57
Arizona13117.7%6.13%#468
Montana1169.1%6.25%#173
South Dakota940.0%5.88%#137
Florida8225.0%6.13%#971
Wisconsin6316.7%6.25%#558
Colorado550.0%5.88%#616

Frequently asked questions

Gate City Bank denied 12.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 41st percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Gate City Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 40.0% 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 Gate City Bank originated in 2025 was 6.65%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.26 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 41% of its applications were for home purchases, 19% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 41% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 92% conventional, 5% FHA, 2% 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 Gate City Bank. Data sources · Methodology