Mortgage lender · Shawnee, OK · LEI 549300CKJ4DTUYAZXI11

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

Sovereign Bank earns an A, placing it in the top fifth of small mortgage lenders. It turned down 1.9% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 89th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.28 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 49th percentile on pricing. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

538Applications2025
90.2%Originatedof applications
1.9%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.99%Median ratenational 6.63%
$126MLoan volume14 states

Sovereign Bank at a glance, 2025

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

1.9%Denial rate (all applications)-16.12 pts vs national
1.9%Denial rate (decided applications)-20.67 pts vs national
90.2%Origination rate+32.12 pts vs national
3.0%Withdrawn by applicant
0.0%Closed for incompleteness
6.99%Median interest rate+0.37 pts vs national
0.28Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.03 pts vs national
$205,000Median loan amount
$5,264Median total loan costs
$105kMedian applicant income
80%Median loan-to-value
1High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the A 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%

89th1.9% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

49th0.28 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

85th3.0%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

28th2.57% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20235124433.3%3.4%7.25%$144M
20245915252.7%2.8%7.00%$157M
20255384851.9%1.9%6.99%$126M

What Sovereign 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 379 70% · 1.6% denied
Refinance 114 21% · 1.8% denied
Cash-out refinance 27 5% · 7.4% denied
Home improvement 16 3% · 0.0% denied
Other / HELOC 2 0% · 0.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 403 75% · 1.5% denied
FHA 92 17% · 4.4% denied
VA 42 8% · 0.0% denied
USDA / RHS 1 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 6 manufactured homes, 174 investment properties.

Why Sovereign Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 10 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 4 40%
Insufficient cash 3 30%
Debt-to-income ratio 1 10%
Unverifiable information 1 10%
Employment history 1 10%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Sovereign Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k39338.3%
$50k – $100k1591384.0%
$100k – $150k105930.0%
$150k – $250k74680.0%
Over $250k43390.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2528253.9%
25–341331150.8%
35–44102911.0%
45–5459513.5%
55–6455449.4%
65–7437360.0%

Where Sovereign Bank lends

14 states and 54 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Oklahoma5154671.8%6.99%#63
Florida540.0%7.50%#1,090
Texas550.0%6.99%#1,074

Frequently asked questions

Sovereign Bank denied 1.9% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 89th percentile of small mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Sovereign Bank gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 40.0% 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 Sovereign Bank originated in 2025 was 6.99%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.28 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 70% of its applications were for home purchases, 26% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 3% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 75% conventional, 17% FHA, 8% 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 Sovereign Bank. Data sources · Methodology