Mortgage lender · Wauwatosa, WI · LEI 549300GDJSUYPH6UC416

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

WaterStone Bank earns a D, weaker than most investment-property lenders. It turned down 19.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 12th percentile for approval odds. Compared against 220 investment-property lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

129Applications2025
70.5%Originatedof applications
19.2%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
Median ratenational 6.63%
$148MLoan volume10 states

WaterStone Bank at a glance, 2025

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

17.8%Denial rate (all applications)-0.15 pts vs national
19.2%Denial rate (decided applications)-3.42 pts vs national
70.5%Origination rate+12.51 pts vs national
7.0%Withdrawn by applicant
0.0%Closed for incompleteness
Median interest rate
Median rate spread (pts over APOR)
$515,000Median loan amount
Median total loan costs
$84kMedian applicant income
Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 220 investment-property lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

12th19.2% denied

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

41st7.0%

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
2023131966.9%8.3%$117M
2024856911.8%12.7%$71M
20251299117.8%19.2%$148M

What WaterStone 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 75 58% · 16.0% denied
Refinance 9 7% · 33.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 39 30% · 18.0% denied
Home improvement 6 5% · 16.7% denied

By loan type

Conventional 129 100% · 17.8% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 0 manufactured homes, 115 investment properties.

Where WaterStone Bank lends

10 states and 30 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Wisconsin1087819.4%#245
Indiana870.0%#588

Frequently asked questions

WaterStone Bank denied 19.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 12th percentile of investment-property lenders.

In 2025, 58% of its applications were for home purchases, 37% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 5% 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 WaterStone Bank. Data sources · Methodology