Mortgage lender · Poplar Bluff, MO · LEI 549300YKBMBBIIMQJS94

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

Southern Bank earns an A, placing it in the top fifth of mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 5.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 67th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.22 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 56th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.8kApplications2025
83.7%Originatedof applications
5.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.45%Median ratenational 6.63%
$290MLoan volume13 states

Southern Bank at a glance, 2025

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

5.2%Denial rate (all applications)-12.80 pts vs national
5.8%Denial rate (decided applications)-16.77 pts vs national
83.7%Origination rate+25.64 pts vs national
10.6%Withdrawn by applicant
0.3%Closed for incompleteness
7.45%Median interest rate+0.83 pts vs national
0.22Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.03 pts vs national
$115,000Median loan amount
$2,140Median total loan costs
$92kMedian applicant income
73%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%

67th5.8% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

56th0.22 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

78th10.9%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

69th1.86% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,5701,3045.4%6.0%7.75%$251M
20241,7351,4555.7%6.4%8.13%$269M
20251,7761,4865.2%5.8%7.45%$290M

What 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 834 47% · 4.2% denied
Refinance 300 17% · 3.7% denied
Cash-out refinance 82 5% · 7.3% denied
Home improvement 314 18% · 5.1% denied
Other / HELOC 246 14% · 9.8% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,747 98% · 5.0% denied
VA 1 0% · 0.0% denied
USDA / RHS 28 2% · 17.9% denied

Also: 581 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 106 manufactured homes, 565 investment properties.

Why Southern Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 92 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 50 54%
Debt-to-income ratio 28 30%
Unverifiable information 4 4%
Other 4 4%
Collateral 3 3%
Employment history 2 2%
Insufficient cash 1 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Southern Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k27618618.3%
$50k – $100k4713816.6%
$100k – $150k2912464.3%
$150k – $250k2231992.9%
Over $250k108873.3%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2576576.6%
25–342792189.8%
35–442632148.2%
45–542982514.9%
55–642662138.2%
65–741711393.5%
Over 74644910.7%

Where Southern Bank lends

13 states and 134 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Missouri1,3271,1115.2%7.50%#38
Arkansas3543063.7%7.30%#70
Illinois563512.5%7.25%#439
Kansas8712.5%7.25%#376
Tennessee760.0%7.31%#696
Texas5420.0%6.69%#1,085

Frequently asked questions

Southern Bank denied 5.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 67th percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Southern Bank gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 54.3% 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 Southern Bank originated in 2025 was 7.45%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.22 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 47% of its applications were for home purchases, 22% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 32% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 98% conventional, 0% 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 Southern Bank. Data sources · Methodology