Mortgage lender · Arlington, MA · LEI 549300FK3AFCFVAPH234

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

Leader Bank earns an A, placing it in the top fifth of mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 2.4% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 92nd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.17 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 91st percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

7.7kApplications2025
81.8%Originatedof applications
2.4%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$3.5BLoan volume46 states

Leader Bank at a glance, 2025

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

2.0%Denial rate (all applications)-15.96 pts vs national
2.4%Denial rate (decided applications)-20.24 pts vs national
81.8%Origination rate+23.77 pts vs national
13.3%Withdrawn by applicant
0.6%Closed for incompleteness
6.25%Median interest rate-0.38 pts vs national
-0.17Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.42 pts vs national
$495,000Median loan amount
$4,888Median total loan costs
$195kMedian applicant income
75%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the A 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%

92nd2.4% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

91st-0.17 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

65th13.8%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

91st0.99% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20234,6773,8112.6%3.0%6.38%$1.9B
20246,5395,3982.6%3.0%6.50%$2.7B
20257,6706,2742.0%2.4%6.25%$3.5B

What Leader 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 5,433 71% · 1.6% denied
Refinance 1,089 14% · 1.1% denied
Cash-out refinance 385 5% · 2.9% denied
Home improvement 65 1% · 9.2% denied
Other / HELOC 698 9% · 5.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 7,502 98% · 2.0% denied
FHA 96 1% · 7.3% denied
VA 72 1% · 1.4% denied

Also: 894 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 0 manufactured homes, 761 investment properties.

Why Leader Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 155 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 63 41%
Collateral 61 39%
Credit history 13 8%
Other 8 5%
Insufficient cash 5 3%
Unverifiable information 3 2%
Employment history 2 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Leader Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k301720.8%
$50k – $100k7846174.7%
$100k – $150k1,5211,2252.7%
$150k – $250k2,6072,1631.8%
Over $250k2,6482,1781.8%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 25104843.5%
25–342,3211,9282.1%
35–442,4672,0452.0%
45–541,2209823.3%
55–648967193.0%
65–744693641.5%
Over 74126894.2%

Where Leader Bank lends

46 states and 449 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Massachusetts5,9134,9261.8%6.25%#7
New Hampshire2992481.3%6.38%#48
Connecticut2101770.5%6.49%#97
Florida1541141.3%6.38%#414
Rhode Island1491242.0%6.38%#61
Texas91535.5%6.49%#575
California87585.8%6.25%#462
Maine72604.2%6.31%#112
North Carolina68512.9%6.49%#360
New Jersey51372.0%6.38%#352
New York44350.0%6.38%#343
Washington392612.8%6.31%#318
Georgia38290.0%6.50%#481
Ohio36285.6%6.63%#450
Virginia33253.0%6.13%#430
Pennsylvania31220.0%6.31%#548
South Carolina29243.5%6.50%#400
Illinois28177.1%6.13%#550
Colorado27237.4%6.38%#379
Vermont25194.0%6.50%#72
Arizona24154.2%6.50%#404
Maryland20175.0%5.99%#412
Michigan20135.0%6.00%#437
Minnesota20160.0%6.50%#389
Tennessee17140.0%6.56%#562
Indiana1480.0%6.56%#510
New Mexico1390.0%6.00%#236
Wisconsin13110.0%6.50%#462
Utah1268.3%6.50%#276
Kentucky11100.0%6.13%#402
Alabama10100.0%6.81%#480
Oregon1050.0%6.50%#371
District of Columbia950.0%5.88%#195
Missouri980.0%6.38%#514
Kansas650.0%6.49%#392
Nevada630.0%5.99%#361
Arkansas540.0%6.31%#396
Idaho540.0%5.99%#337
Oklahoma540.0%6.81%#476

Frequently asked questions

Leader Bank denied 2.4% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 92nd percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Leader Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 40.6% 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 Leader Bank originated in 2025 was 6.25%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.17 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 71% of its applications were for home purchases, 19% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 10% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 98% conventional, 1% 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 Leader Bank. Data sources · Methodology