Mortgage lender · Houston, TX · LEI 549300Y5YUNNHUW2EQ06

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

Stellar Bank earns a D, weaker than most small mortgage lenders. It turned down 35.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 5th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.25 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 52nd percentile on pricing. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

641Applications2025
43.8%Originatedof applications
35.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.18%Median ratenational 6.63%
$376MLoan volume5 states

Stellar Bank at a glance, 2025

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

29.3%Denial rate (all applications)+11.35 pts vs national
35.8%Denial rate (decided applications)+13.22 pts vs national
43.8%Origination rate-14.19 pts vs national
14.8%Withdrawn by applicant
3.3%Closed for incompleteness
7.18%Median interest rate+0.56 pts vs national
0.25Median rate spread (pts over APOR)0.00 pts vs national
$305,000Median loan amount
$11,969Median total loan costs
$216kMedian applicant income
71%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D 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%

5th35.8% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

52nd0.25 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

25th18.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

9th3.92% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202388044128.0%33.2%8.00%$330M
202457825533.0%40.2%8.50%$179M
202564128129.3%35.8%7.18%$376M

What Stellar 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 370 58% · 14.6% denied
Refinance 33 5% · 30.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 43 7% · 48.8% denied
Home improvement 58 9% · 51.7% denied
Other / HELOC 137 21% · 53.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 641 100% · 29.3% denied

Also: 166 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 10 manufactured homes, 187 investment properties.

Why Stellar Bank denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 188 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 100 53%
Credit history 56 30%
Collateral 20 11%
Other 7 4%
Insufficient cash 4 2%
Employment history 1 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Stellar Bank

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k29481.5%
$50k – $100k64882.4%
$100k – $150k671662.8%
$150k – $250k953050.0%
Over $250k2099126.3%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
25–34622139.5%
35–441114541.3%
45–541194252.5%
55–641323844.3%
65–74451261.1%
Over 7421468.8%

Where Stellar Bank lends

5 states and 57 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Texas63727929.4%7.25%#224

Frequently asked questions

Stellar Bank denied 35.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 5th percentile of small mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Stellar Bank gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 53.2% 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 Stellar Bank originated in 2025 was 7.18%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.25 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 58% of its applications were for home purchases, 12% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 30% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 100% 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 Stellar Bank. Data sources · Methodology