Mortgage lender · Bellingham, WA · LEI 5493003Q3L1PO9NBVK64

Whatcom Educational Credit Union review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Whatcom Educational Credit Union earns a B, better than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 22.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 56th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.04 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 56th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.6kApplications2025
62.3%Originatedof applications
22.7%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$317MLoan volume1 states

Whatcom Educational Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

18.5%Denial rate (all applications)+0.47 pts vs national
22.7%Denial rate (decided applications)+0.06 pts vs national
62.3%Origination rate+4.26 pts vs national
16.6%Withdrawn by applicant
1.9%Closed for incompleteness
7.25%Median interest rate+0.63 pts vs national
0.04Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.21 pts vs national
$155,000Median loan amount
$4,373Median total loan costs
$129kMedian applicant income
60%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B 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%

56th22.7% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

56th0.04 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

19th18.5%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

58th2.82% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,28181117.6%21.7%8.00%$166M
20241,43592619.4%23.1%8.25%$237M
20251,6311,01618.5%22.7%7.25%$317M

What Whatcom Educational Credit Union 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 422 26% · 6.4% denied
Refinance 98 6% · 19.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 265 16% · 15.5% denied
Home improvement 524 32% · 22.7% denied
Other / HELOC 322 20% · 29.5% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,621 99% · 18.6% denied
VA 9 1% · 0.0% denied
USDA / RHS 1 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 1,029 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 90 manufactured homes, 115 investment properties.

Why Whatcom Educational Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 301 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 160 53%
Credit history 51 17%
Collateral 36 12%
Incomplete application 31 10%
Other 15 5%
Employment history 4 1%
Unverifiable information 2 1%
Insufficient cash 2 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Whatcom Educational Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k1073661.3%
$50k – $100k39622830.5%
$100k – $150k47831018.8%
$150k – $250k41729012.8%
Over $250k16510911.2%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2522930.8%
25–3422814119.8%
35–4437322924.8%
45–5438625219.6%
55–6430519025.5%
65–7418811723.4%
Over 741076222.9%

Where Whatcom Educational Credit Union lends

1 states and 25 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Washington1,6311,01618.5%7.25%#42

Frequently asked questions

Whatcom Educational Credit Union denied 22.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 56th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Whatcom Educational Credit Union 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 Whatcom Educational Credit Union originated in 2025 was 7.25%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.04 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 26% of its applications were for home purchases, 22% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 52% 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 Whatcom Educational Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology