Nationwide Review | Mortgage Refinance

The name Nationwide usually rings a bell thanks to its catchy jingle, which is one of those earworms you can’t seem to get rid of (You just sang it in your head, didn’t you?). This long-standing advertising campaign highlights the company’s insurance services.

However, you might be surprised to learn that Nationwide customers have access to personal finance services through a limited marketing relationship with Axos Bank. In this review, we’ll be focusing on Nationwide’s mortgage refinance options for homeowners available through Axos.

• Nationwide’s Services
• Nationwide’s Credentials
• Nationwide’s Accessibility
• Nationwide’s Customer Satisfaction

Nationwide Mortgage Refinance Overview

Nationwide is well-known for its wide variety of insurance products, including auto insurance, homeowners insurance and life insurance. The company offers favorable terms on banking products and services through Axos Bank, which itself offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal loans and more.

Axos is a federally chartered savings bank headquartered in San Diego. It was one of the first banks to offer its services exclusively online and has been serving consumers and businesses for nearly two decades.

Nationwide’s Services

It’s important to emphasize that Nationwide's banking services provided by Axos are solely under the purview of Axos. The Axos-Nationwide website has a list of thorough disclaimers so that customers have a full understanding of this relationship, which we will outline in the “What they don’t offer” section below.

What Nationwide offers

Through Axos, Nationwide offers a standard slate of mortgage products, such as home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, FHA loans, (for first-time homebuyers)and cash-out refinance options. Mortgage refinance loans give you a new, larger loan and convert your home’s equity into cash, if you choose to. There’s not much more information publicly available on the website about the company’s specific refinance options.

Axos offers a wide variety of mortgage products that appear to be flexible in nature. Here are some standout features of its lending operations that we like:

• Super jumbo mortgage products up to $25,000,000
• Mortgages for foreign national borrowers
• Lender fees are waived for eligible home loan products
• Flexible underwriting covers higher loan amounts and unusual properties
• Portfolio loans with more flexible terms than government-insured loans.
• Interest rate alerts via email

If you submit information about your property, including your zip code, market value and remaining mortgage balance, you can get general interest rates on new mortgages and refinance loans. You’ll also have to provide your email address and phone number before the site displays interest rates for your refinance product of choice.

If you think now is a good time to refinance, you may want to stay up to date with rate changes. Axos lets you sign up for “rate watch” alerts which can be sent regularly or only when interest rates hit your desired target.

What Nationwide doesn’t offer

Nationwide’s website is very clear about the insurance company’s arrangement with Axos. Here’s a quick breakdown regarding this partnership:

• Nationwide does not take applications, offer, negotiate, arrange, or make loans or accept deposits from the public.
• Nationwide does not guarantee any products or services offered by Axos Bank.
• Nationwide does not endorse and is not responsible for any of the activities of Axos Bank.

Nationwide also discloses that it receives a fee from Axos Bank for its marketing and advertising efforts originating from this relationship with Axos.

Nationwide’s Credentials

The Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company was originally founded in 1926 as the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The company operates as a group of insurance and financial companies and is based in Columbus, OH.

Axos was founded in 2000 as Bank of Internet (BOFI). Until 2018, the bank also operated under the following trade names BofI Advisor, Bank X, NetBank, Apartment Bank, Annuitants Federal Bank, and Virtus Ban, then rebranded under Axos. Axos went public in 2005 under the ticker BOFI.

Licenses and Registrations

Axos is a licensed mortgage lender whose Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) ID is 524995. The lender has a little over 30 Residential Mortgage Loan Originators (RMLOs), called mortgage consultants, with their own unique NMLS ID listed on the company website and verifiable on the NMLS Consumer Access website.

Awards and Certifications

Several financial websites have recognized Axos as a top-tier bank for categories such as:

• Top 10 Best Small Regional Banks 2022
• Top 10 Digital Banks
• Best Online Bank
• Best Banks for Small Business

Regulatory or Legal Actions

Axos bank has been the subject of some lawsuits and allegations regarding its banking practices. These lawsuits include:

• A 2020 lawsuit alleged that Axos and its partner engaged in willful and deceptive acts and practices that violated New York’s Criminal Usury laws.

• In 2019, a judge ruled that H&R Block and Axos Bank violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act for mishandling customers’ notice of error for a prepaid debit card the companies issued jointly.

• In 2016, a judge ruled that H&R Block and Axos Bank violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act in improperly denying the dispute of the unauthorized transactions (regarding the same prepaid debit card mentioned above).

• In 2021, a class action lawsuit alleged that Axos unfairly charged customer overdraft fees.

• In 2021, the bank was sued for alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) in its outbound calling practices.

A search on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB for the keyword “Axos” returns about 400 results. The top complaints mention the bank’s checking account products (about 200) and then mortgage lending operations (about 300).

Although we always try to include accurate and up-to-date information on regulatory and legal actions, this information may not be complete or fully up to date. We recommend you do your own research for the latest information.

Nationwide’s Accessibility

All of Axos’ financial services are provided exclusively online. The bank has no physical branch locations.

Availability

Customers can reach Axos mortgage consultants at 844-AXOS HOME (844-296-7466). The bank's home loan division is accessible from 7 AM to 8 PM PST, Monday through Friday and from 8 AM to 2 PM PST on Saturdays.

Axos’ servicing department is accessible from 8 AM to 5 PM PST, Monday through Friday. For home lending, you may also contact the bank’s representatives online via live chat or email at axosmortgages@axosbank.com.

According to Axos’s website, the bank observes the following holidays:

• New Year's Day
• M.L. King Jr.'s Birthday
• President's Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day.

User Experience

The Axos website offers limited information about the bank’s home loan products. If you create a profile and apply for a mortgage or mortgage refi loan, you can get personalized interest rates. However, you must provide your phone number and email address to access said mortgage rates.

Axos does feature some public-facing information about why you’d want to refinance your home but for more specifics on educational material like mortgage refinance steps, you’re better off reaching out to a mortgage officer or mortgage broker.

Limitations

Some loan products and terms (monthly payments, down payment, closing costs) may not be available depending on where you live or the location of your property. Speak with an Axos mortgage consultant to learn more about which loan products you are eligible for based on your circumstances.

Nationwide’s Customer Satisfaction

In this section, we typically summarize customer satisfaction ratings based on customer reviews and third-party ratings sites. However, there’s not much information available on these sites for Axos.

Third-party Ratings

We generally look for reviews on sites like Trustpilot, The Better Business Bureau, Yelp and Google Business. However, due to the low number of reviews across these platforms for Axos, Nationwide’s lending partner, we don’t think there’s enough information to reach a clear conclusion about Axos’s customer satisfaction ratings for our readers.

Customer Complaints

Due to a lack of information on third-party review sites about Axos Bank, we could not find enough complaints and reviews to feature here.

This information is provided based on the information we have available at the time of publishing.

How We Evaluated Nationwide Mortgage Refinance

Our team reviews information from the organization’s website, customer review sites, industry watchdog reports and information from consumer advocacy sites.

Summary of Money’s Nationwide Review

We think getting a loan estimate from Axos could be worth it if you are a Nationwide customer hoping to leverage your relationship with the insurer for better lending terms. Although there’s no way to determine where they stand in relation to what we consider to be the best mortgage refinance companies, exploring some of the discounts available through this partnership can't hurt.

As always, we encourage customers to get several loan estimates and choose the best lender for their needs. Some thorough research before a mortgage application could very well result in lower fees and better loan terms when it’s time for refinancing your mortgage.