Figures on this page were re-read from the data files on 2026-10-01; an earlier version carried values from before the 26 July 2026 universe correction (reverse mortgages removed). Corrections log.
In Puerto Rico, the highest FHA denial rates among major lenders in 2025 belonged to Firstbank (30.7%), Oriental Bank (26.2%), Banco Popular (26.0%).Puerto Rico’s FHA denial rate in 2025 was 17.8% across 7,845 decisioned applications — ranking #47 of 52 states. Among high-volume lenders, the lowest observed denial rate was Metro Island Mortgage at 0.2%; the highest was Firstbank at 30.7%. The institutional spread inside Puerto Rico is 153.5×: the same FHA application faces a 0.2% observed denial rate at one high-volume door and 30.7% at another — two real endpoints of the federal record, same state, same program. Source: complete CFPB HMDA 2025 federal record.
Cells require 100+ decisioned applications. Sorted softest first. Observed rates — not endorsements.
| Lender | Puerto Rico FHA apps | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|
| Metro Island Mortgage | 460 | 0.2% |
| Home Mortgage Bankers | 364 | 0.5% |
| Emi Equity Mortgage, Inc. | 203 | 1.0% |
| Rf Mortgage & Investment Corp | 171 | 8.2% |
| Trust Mortgage Corp. | 328 | 9.1% |
| Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc | 215 | 10.7% |
| The Moneyhouse Inc. | 895 | 10.9% |
| Vig Mortgage | 206 | 11.2% |
| Preferred Mortgage LLC | 461 | 12.8% |
| Actual Mortgage Bankers | 223 | 15.7% |
| First Equity Mortgage Bankers In | 652 | 23.9% |
| Hr Mortgage Corp | 231 | 25.1% |
| Banco Popular | 1,257 | 26.0% |
| Oriental Bank | 642 | 26.2% |
| Firstbank | 935 | 30.7% |
Applications under $150K were denied 18.6% of the time versus 15.6% for loans of $250K+ — a 1.2× penalty on the smallest loans. National context: the small-loan penalty.
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires every U.S. mortgage lender to report every application — outcome, amount, and denial reason — to federal regulators annually. It is government-verified, covers all lenders equally, and cannot be gamed. These tables are processed directly from that record.
Nobody. No lender pays to appear or improve its position; no ads, no referral fees, no lead sales. FinanceRateCalc is not a lender and does not compete with the institutions it measures. Rates reflect applicant mix and channel as well as underwriting appetite — a high rate is not an accusation, and a low one is not advice. Compare nationally: the top-100 table · the 15-market door map · all 52 states ranked · why each lender says no.
Reading note: lender-level denial rates describe tendencies in the observed record, not rules — individual outcomes vary with each file. Rankings can also shift with denominator choices (which application outcomes are counted); FRC's rule is published in full in the methodology, so every figure here is reproducible from the raw federal file.