Mortgage lender · Sterling, IL · LEI 549300B6UWNP01JH6452

Sauk Valley Bank & Trust review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Sauk Valley Bank & Trust earns a B, better than most small mortgage lenders. It turned down 8.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 54th percentile for approval odds. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

281Applications2025
80.8%Originatedof applications
8.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
Median ratenational 6.63%
$40MLoan volume5 states

Sauk Valley Bank & Trust at a glance, 2025

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

7.8%Denial rate (all applications)-10.15 pts vs national
8.8%Denial rate (decided applications)-13.83 pts vs national
80.8%Origination rate+22.75 pts vs national
9.3%Withdrawn by applicant
1.4%Closed for incompleteness
Median interest rate
Median rate spread (pts over APOR)
$105,000Median loan amount
Median total loan costs
$73kMedian applicant income
Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B 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%

54th8.8% denied

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

55th10.7%

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20232171903.7%4.0%$26M
20242482312.8%2.9%$39M
20252812277.8%8.8%$40M

What Sauk Valley Bank & Trust 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 165 59% · 2.4% denied
Refinance 65 23% · 9.2% denied
Cash-out refinance 11 4% · 27.3% denied
Home improvement 19 7% · 26.3% denied
Other / HELOC 21 7% · 19.1% denied

By loan type

Conventional 275 98% · 6.6% denied
FHA 6 2% · 66.7% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 0 manufactured homes, 73 investment properties.

Who gets approved at Sauk Valley Bank & Trust

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k614320.4%
$50k – $100k886412.0%
$100k – $150k48392.5%
$150k – $250k21185.3%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2523184.8%
25–34594412.0%
35–44463417.1%
45–54433211.1%
55–6435296.5%

Where Sauk Valley Bank & Trust lends

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

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Illinois2562058.6%#218
Wisconsin19160.0%#420

Frequently asked questions

Sauk Valley Bank & Trust denied 8.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 54th percentile of small mortgage lenders.

In 2025, 59% of its applications were for home purchases, 27% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 14% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 98% conventional, 2% 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 Sauk Valley Bank & Trust. Data sources · Methodology