Mortgage lender · Mount Olive, NC · LEI 5493000XJFWT2H46HI07

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

Southern Bank and Trust earns an A, placing it in the top fifth of home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 12.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 87th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.22 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 45th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.9kApplications2025
80.7%Originatedof applications
12.5%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$441MLoan volume5 states

Southern Bank and Trust at a glance, 2025

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

12.3%Denial rate (all applications)-5.65 pts vs national
12.5%Denial rate (decided applications)-10.12 pts vs national
80.7%Origination rate+22.64 pts vs national
1.0%Withdrawn by applicant
0.1%Closed for incompleteness
7.25%Median interest rate+0.63 pts vs national
0.22Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.03 pts vs national
$195,000Median loan amount
$6,275Median total loan costs
$141kMedian applicant income
71%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the A 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%

87th12.5% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

45th0.22 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

97th1.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

47th3.22% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,9091,48112.8%13.1%7.00%$381M
20241,7051,32413.7%14.0%7.50%$362M
20251,9301,55712.3%12.5%7.25%$441M

What Southern Bank and 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 795 41% · 4.8% denied
Refinance 339 18% · 18.0% denied
Cash-out refinance 38 2% · 15.8% denied
Home improvement 208 11% · 18.8% denied
Other / HELOC 550 28% · 17.1% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,915 99% · 12.2% denied
VA 10 1% · 10.0% denied
USDA / RHS 5 0% · 60.0% denied

Also: 990 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 69 manufactured homes, 361 investment properties.

Why Southern Bank and Trust denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 238 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 110 46%
Debt-to-income ratio 83 35%
Other 18 8%
Collateral 15 6%
Incomplete application 8 3%
Employment history 2 1%
Unverifiable information 1 0%
Insufficient cash 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Southern Bank and Trust

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k1267732.8%
$50k – $100k39328419.3%
$100k – $150k37330013.8%
$150k – $250k4183568.7%
Over $250k3543055.8%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2535315.7%
25–3425720510.8%
35–4432926213.3%
45–5435428214.6%
55–6434927813.6%
65–7425420514.6%
Over 741188617.2%

Where Southern Bank and Trust lends

5 states and 101 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
North Carolina1,6651,35811.4%7.25%#59
Virginia25819318.6%7.25%#180
South Carolina540.0%6.75%#655

Frequently asked questions

Southern Bank and Trust denied 12.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 87th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Southern Bank and Trust gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 46.2% 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 and Trust originated in 2025 was 7.25%, 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, 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 Southern Bank and Trust. Data sources · Methodology