Pennymac Review
See how often this lender's rate is at or below the median on 2025 loans.
How Bankrate scores Pennymac
- Price competitiveness
How often this lender's borrowers got an interest rate at or below the median rate for similar loans.
4 out of 5 - Amount of overpayment
How much more this lender's borrowers paid than the lowest-cost mortgage offer for a similar borrower and loan, almost always found exclusively through Bankrate's auction.
4 out of 5 - Customer complaints
How often consumers complain about this lender, and whether they get relief.
5%4 out of 5 - Where and what they lend
How many states and loan types this lender serves.
100%5 out of 5
No lender can pay for a higher Bankrate Rating. Every score comes from the same data and criteria.
2025 ratings, across all four measures
A few more details worth knowing
Though these don't affect the star rating, we show them so you have the full picture.
For applicants age 62 and older, we measure two things: whether this lender denies them more often than its own lending patterns would predict after accounting for loan size, income, debt-to-income ratio, and loan type; and whether it lends to them at rates similar to comparable lenders. Importantly, federal mortgage disclosure data does not include applicants' credit scores, so the analysis cannot account for differences in creditworthiness that may explain some disparities. This limitation applies to all lenders, making comparisons more consistent, but its impact may vary across lenders. These measures identify potential disparities, not proof of unfair treatment.
We looked at how often a lender's applications end up as closed loans, not counting any that were denied or the applicant withdrew. At this lender, fewer than 90% did, which might mean quoted terms changed before closing, applicants stepped away, or both.
Importantly, this measure is not included in the scores because a lender's closing likelihood might be pulled down by factors outside their control, such as differences in application volume. Nonetheless, there are clear performance differences between lenders even after these factors are controlled for, so it is included for informational purposes only.
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What Bankrate's editors think
Pennymac has built a reputation in VA lending: It financed $7.61 billion in VA loans in the first quarter of 2026 alone and services nearly 430,000 VA loans. Preapproved borrowers can get $1,000 off closing costs (but that doesn’t apply to jumbo loans or refinances), plus a one-percentage-point rate cut for the first 12 payments. On top of that, most purchase borrowers (VA loans excluded) can get a temporary rate buydown: one percentage point off for the first year, or two points off the first year and one point off the second, depending on the option. Borrowers who buy with Pennymac and refinance within three years get a separate $2,000 credit.
The numbers mostly back up the pitch: about 61% of the mortgages Pennymac originated in 2025 were priced below comparable loans, and its CFPB origination-related complaint volume is low enough, with a strong enough relief rate, to land one of the better complaint scores in the pack. Plus, JD Power gave Pennymac an above-average rating for loan servicing after closing in its 2026 mortgage servicer study.
But Bankrate’s analysis of HMDA data found that approximately 1 in 3 borrowers approved for a Pennymac loan don’t end up closing on it, a poorer rate than what we see with most of the lenders we track. A closing can fall through for reasons beyond a lender’s control, such as an applicant’s decision to walk away, but ask about Pennymac’s closing process before you sign any paperwork.
At a glance
Pennymac is good for borrowers who want a government-backed loan and plan to get preapproved with the lender, since that unlocks its biggest discounts. Other Pennymac discounts may be less useful — for example, it’s hard to predict whether you’d ever use the refinance credit.
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Get today's rates for youCompare Pennymac with any of our rated 1,962+ lenders. We start by stacking it up against a lender of similar reach and scale — but you can swap in any lender you’d like.
Figures are drawn from public lending and complaint data and weighted by loan volume.
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