KeyBank: 2025 Home Equity Review

KeyBank overview

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, KeyBank operates just under 1,000 branch locations in 15 states — primarily the Northeast and Northwest. While it’s not one of the largest home equity lenders, KeyBank does have a sizable portfolio – more than $6.5 billion – of home equity loans. In addition, KeyBank offers all the typical services of a big bank, including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, investing and insurance.

Pros and cons of KeyBank

How Bankrate scored KeyBank

Affordability: 1.6/5

• APR: KeyBank’s APR varies based on your location, the amount you’re looking to borrow and the loan term; expect to pay higher rates for larger loans with longer repayment periods. In general, though, APRs skew several percentage points higher than Bankrate’s averages for home equity loans and HELOCs.
• Fees: KeyBank charges an origination fee of $295 for home equity loans and a $50 annual fee for HELOCs. Additionally, while you won’t be charged for some closing costs upfront, you’ll be required to repay certain closing costs if you pay your loan off and close your account within three years. All this is fairly standard. 

Because KeyBank charges much higher rates, we gave it a 1.6 out of 5 for affordability. 

Availability: 2.9/5

• Loan products: KeyBank offers both fixed-rate home equity loans and variable-rate HELOCs, along with a special home equity loan for borrowers in certain communities. 
• Footprint: KeyBank is licensed to lend in 15 states, offering a relatively small footprint versus some other national lenders. HELOCs are not available in every state.
• Credit score: KeyBank does not list credit score minimums online, in contrast to many lenders. 
• Loan minimum: KeyBank’s minimum amount for home equity loans is just $10,000 – on the low side – while HELOCs require a minimum of $25,000, a typical sum.

While KeyBank earns some points for smaller loan minimums and a robust array of products, its 15-state footprint excludes a sizable chunk of borrowers. That’s why it earns a 2.9 out of 5 for availability. 

Borrower experience: 4/5

• Rate transparency: KeyBank displays a full breakdown of its lowest-available APRs by zip code, loan size and term – unlike a lot of lenders, which require you to apply to get a sense of customized borrowing costs.
• Convenience: In addition to offering the ability to apply via the KeyBank website, you can schedule an appointment to talk with a loan officer at a physical branch. You can also monitor your loan application and make loan/credit line payments via the bank’s mobile app or by phone.
• Customer service: KeyBank offers phone-based customer service seven days a week (although it’s not 24 hours per day). 
• Fixed-rate options: KeyBank does not offer any ability to convert a portion of a HELOC into a fixed-rate loan – a feature that you can find at many other lenders.

Because of KeyBank’s easy-to-view APRs and variety of options for contact and transactions, we gave it a 4 out of 5 for an above-average borrower experience.

KeyBank’s reputation

KeyBank is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but the bank performs poorly among customer reviews. KeyBank’s Trustpilot reviews aren’t great, either – a 1.4 out of 5 stars with numerous complaints about poor customer service.

Home equity loan products offered

KeyBank offers home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) with an up to 80 percent combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratio. The bank’s home equity loans have terms from five years to 30 years. Its HELOCs range from $10,000 to $500,000 and its home equity loans range from $25,000 to $500,000.

The bank also offers home equity loans specifically for homeowners in designated areas that come with waived fees, special interest rates and repayment terms as short as one year. The bank’s website is unclear on where exactly these communities are located, so you’ll need to inquire about your eligibility.

Borrowers can tap up to 80 percent of their home’s value.

How to qualify for a home equity loan with KeyBank

You don’t have to have a previous relationship with KeyBank to qualify for a home equity loan or HELOC, but if you sign up for a checking and a savings account, you’ll get a rate discount. The bank doesn’t disclose much of its borrower criteria. In general, home equity lenders like to see minimum credit scores of 620-40, and debt-to-income ratios of no more than 43 percent. Credit scores on KeyBank’s home-equity loans are higher than on any other type of consumer loans it owns, the financial press has reported.

You must live in a state where the bank operates, as well. It only offers home equity loans in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont and Washington. The bank currently doesn’t offer HELOCs in Alabama, Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Washington, D.C.

How to apply with KeyBank

You can apply for your home equity loan or HELOC with KeyBank at a branch or online. The application process requires you to provide some financial information, such as tax returns and bank statements. If you have questions, you can call 888-KEY-0018 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET or Saturday, 9 a.m to 3 p.m. ET.

• Methodology

  To determine a home equity lender’s Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender’s products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; introductory APR - 20%
  • Availability: Licensing - 50%; credit score - 20%; loan minimum - 10%; draw requirement - 10%; loan products - 10% 
  • Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 35%; customer service - 35%; convenience - 20%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (if applicable)

  Learn more about our methodology.