BNC National Bank Mortgage Review 2021

BNC National Bank overview

BNC National Bank has been providing mortgages for 30 years, funding over $11 billion in loans and helping more than 40,000 families. While the bank specializes in an online and consumer-direct lending experience, it also has branch locations in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and North Dakota. While BNC National Bank offers a wide range of loan programs, the bank specializes in serving veterans with VA loans, with more than 50 percent of its business coming from the sector. Preapprovals happen instantly online via an automated system, and the bank can close new purchases in less than 30 days.

Good for

Borrowers looking for a VA loan and competitive rates

Loan types 

• Conventional
• Jumbo
• FHA
• VA
• USDA
• Fixed-rate
• Adjustable-rate
• Rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing 

Lender fees

BNC National Bank’s lender fees are not listed on its website. There are no fees for VA loans, which make up a considerable portion of the lender’s business.

Rates 

BNC National Bank publicly advertises mortgage rates and regularly updates the listings on its website. The rates tend to be lower than national averages (as of August 2021). You can also get a custom quote based on your loan amount, down payment, credit score and other information through the website.

Reputation 

BNC National Bank is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating from the organization.

Online services

BNC National Bank offers a lot of the electronic services that borrowers expect, including easy online preapproval, document uploading and application status tracking capabilities (closings require an in-person notary). The BNC website also includes a range of calculators to help borrowers understand whether they should refinance, whether they should pay points and a number of other decisions in the home loan process.

Minimum borrower requirements 

BNC National Bank has increased its minimum credit score requirement from 520 to 620 since the pandemic, but a spokesperson says that the lender offers manual underwriting for government-backed products. For VA and USDA loans, the maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is 60 percent. For FHA products, the maximum DTI ratio is 50 percent.

Refinancing with BNC National Bank 

You can refinance your mortgage with BNC National Bank, and the lender can move from locking in a rate to closing in as little as 35 days.

Not sure if BNC National Bank is right for you? Consider these alternatives

• Navy Federal Credit Union mortgage review: Also specializes in helping military members, veterans and their families and publishes rates daily
• USAA mortgage review: Another bank focused on serving those who have served in the military and their family members, with a larger national profile and bigger membership base
• NBKC Bank mortgage review: No origination fee on VA loans and an equivalent BBB rating
• Watermark Home Loans review: Offers some loan products exclusively for veterans.
• Freedom Mortgage review: Another major VA lender offering on-time closing and rate-match guarantees, as well as access to additional savings for your move

Breakdown of BNC National Bank overall review score 

• Affordability: 14.75/15
• Availability: 18/20
• Borrower experience: 13/15 

Review methodology 

To determine a mortgage lender’s Bankrate Score, Bankrate’s editorial team rates lenders on a scale of one to five stars based on a variety of factors relating to the lender’s products and services. Bankrate’s partners compensate us, but our opinions are our own, and partner relationships do not influence our reviews. Here is our full methodology.