National Bank - Optimum Mortgage Mortgage Lender Profile
Generally for Self-employed borrowers, people rebuilding credit, and rental property investors who want an alternative mortgage backed by a chartered bank.
Who they are
Optimum Mortgage is the alternative lending division of National Bank of Canada, a Schedule I chartered bank headquartered in Montreal. The business was previously known as CWB Optimum Mortgage and operated as part of Canadian Western Bank, until National Bank completed its acquisition of CWB and the brand was renamed National Bank Optimum Mortgage. Its underwriting and operations remain based in Edmonton, at National Bank Centre. Optimum lends through the mortgage broker channel, so you do not apply to it yourself; a licensed mortgage broker prepares and submits the file on your behalf.
What they lend on, and who for
Optimum focuses on borrowers who do not fit conventional bank guidelines, while still offering the backing of a major chartered bank. Its programmes are built around self-employed and business-for-self clients who document income in non-traditional ways, applicants with bruised or rebuilding credit, and investors financing rental properties. The division treats rental and alternative solutions as core strengths and positions itself as a full-service lender rather than a niche one. Its lending areas, documentation standards and eligible property types are still being aligned following the transition to National Bank, so current details are worth checking.
How to approach National Bank - Optimum Mortgage
You can contact National Bank - Optimum Mortgage yourself; nothing stops you. What you cannot easily find out is what they will actually accept. How they read employment income, what they will do with a bonus or commission, how much rental income they will count against a property, and what they want documented and how recent it has to be — none of that is published in full anywhere, and it moves.
A licensed broker who places files with lenders like this every week knows those criteria, and more usefully knows how to structure a file so it lands inside them rather than just outside. On anything that is not a straightforward salaried purchase, that structuring is most of the difference between an approval and a decline. It costs you nothing on a prime mortgage — the lender pays the broker when it funds.
| Lender type | Bank · Schedule A · Alternative lending |
| Trade name of | National Bank of Canada |
| Head office | National Bank Centre, 600-10180 101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S4 |
| Website | nbc.ca |
| Phone | 1-866-441-3775 |
Get notified 90 days before your renewal
Your lender contacts you at 30 days, when you have no time to shop. We reach you at 90 — early enough to lock a hold and personalize your offers.
Borrower ratings for National Bank - Optimum Mortgage
In today’s world, reviews dictate the service industry. Brokers have taken the hit for bad lenders. We bring the consumer experience to light to help borrowers decide.
How quickly did they issue a commitment and get to funding?
Was the rate you got competitive for the product you qualified for?
Could you reach someone, and did they resolve things?
Portal, e-signing, document upload, online account — did it work?
Were the terms, fees and penalties clear before you signed?
Worked with National Bank - Optimum Mortgage?
Score them on the five things above. We confirm every review by email before it publishes, and we publish the bad ones too.
Questions about National Bank - Optimum Mortgage
Is National Bank - Optimum Mortgage a real mortgage lender?
Yes. National Bank - Optimum Mortgage is a bank (schedule a, alternative lending) based in Alberta, part of National Bank of Canada. Its own site is nbc.ca.
What kind of lender is National Bank - Optimum Mortgage?
Bank — categorised in our directory as Alternative/B-Lender (Schedule I Bank). Chartered banks. Convenient and familiar, rarely the cheapest, and the source of the most expensive break penalties in the market because their interest rate differential is calculated off posted rates rather than the rate you actually pay.
Who owns National Bank - Optimum Mortgage?
National Bank - Optimum Mortgage is part of National Bank of Canada. Ownership matters mainly because it tends to determine the funding source and, on a fixed mortgage, how the break penalty is calculated.
Should I go to National Bank - Optimum Mortgage directly or through a broker?
You can approach them yourself. The reason most people do not is that a lender's real criteria — how income is read, what is accepted as documentation, what will be allowed as an exception — are not published, and they change. A broker who works with National Bank - Optimum Mortgage regularly knows them and knows how to present a file to fit them, which on anything other than a simple salaried purchase is usually what decides the answer. On a prime mortgage it costs you nothing either way, because the lender pays the broker when it funds.
Would National Bank - Optimum Mortgage approve me?
No profile page can answer that, and any site that tries is guessing. It turns on how your income is earned and how much of it a lender will count, your credit history, the property itself, and how much you need against what it is worth. Those are the questions a licensed broker asks before naming a lender — and they will tell you which ones realistically fit, this one included, and which would price it better.
Where does National Bank - Optimum Mortgage lend?
Its head office is in Alberta. Lending areas change and are not always the same as where the lender is based — confirm current coverage with the lender or a broker before planning around it.
Would National Bank - Optimum Mortgage take your file?
Send us the details and a licensed broker will tell you which lenders fit — this one included, and the ones that would price it better.
Send us the file