Mortgage lender · Bellingham, WA · LEI 5493001VH4ZJNSI25781

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

Peoples Bank earns a C, in line with the typical performance of home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 26.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 45th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.53 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 21st percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

925Applications2025
56.5%Originatedof applications
26.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.50%Median ratenational 6.63%
$172MLoan volume2 states

Peoples Bank at a glance, 2025

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

21.2%Denial rate (all applications)+3.21 pts vs national
26.8%Denial rate (decided applications)+4.19 pts vs national
56.5%Origination rate-1.49 pts vs national
12.4%Withdrawn by applicant
8.4%Closed for incompleteness
7.50%Median interest rate+0.88 pts vs national
0.53Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.28 pts vs national
$255,000Median loan amount
$5,489Median total loan costs
$140kMedian applicant income
59%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C 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%

45th26.8% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

21st0.53 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

13th20.9%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

76th2.15% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,26068118.6%25.0%8.00%$223M
20241,13363319.9%26.0%8.00%$246M
202592552321.2%26.8%7.50%$172M

What Peoples 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 383 41% · 12.8% denied
Refinance 151 16% · 19.2% denied
Cash-out refinance 34 4% · 20.6% denied
Home improvement 201 22% · 27.4% denied
Other / HELOC 156 17% · 35.9% denied

By loan type

Conventional 916 99% · 21.3% denied
FHA 4 0% · 0.0% denied
VA 5 1% · 20.0% denied

Also: 508 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 57 manufactured homes, 126 investment properties.

Why Peoples Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 196 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 99 51%
Credit history 47 24%
Collateral 42 21%
Employment history 3 2%
Other 3 2%
Unverifiable information 1 1%
Insufficient cash 1 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Peoples Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k581470.0%
$50k – $100k19910133.3%
$100k – $150k20012221.4%
$150k – $250k24614524.0%
Over $250k1619418.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
25–341034834.7%
35–4422111730.6%
45–541789731.2%
55–6417710024.8%
65–741398125.7%
Over 74583918.4%

Where Peoples Bank lends

2 states and 24 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Washington91352321.4%7.50%#71

Frequently asked questions

Peoples Bank denied 26.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 45th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Peoples Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 50.5% 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 Peoples Bank originated in 2025 was 7.50%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.53 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 41% of its applications were for home purchases, 20% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 39% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 99% conventional, 0% 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 Peoples Bank. Data sources · Methodology