Nationwide says a New York mortgage firm has been trading on its name - and confusing the insurer's own policyholders in the process.
The Columbus-based insurer filed suit on May 20, 2026 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, accusing Nationwide Mortgage Bankers Inc. of trademark infringement, unfair competition, dilution and cybersquatting. The mortgage company, based in Melville, New York, has used the Nationwide name, similar signage and a similar blue color scheme on its storefronts and vehicles, according to the complaint.
The dispute has roots stretching back to 2011, when the mortgage firm applied to register "Nationwide Mortgage Bankers" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO rejected the application in December 2011 on likelihood-of-confusion grounds, issued a final rejection in July 2012, and the application was abandoned in January 2013. About three months after the final rejection, the complaint says, the defendant registered nationwidemortgagebankers.com.
Nationwide says it owns more than 150 federally registered Nationwide marks, spanning insurance underwriting, mortgage lending and brokerage, banking services and the "Nationwide is on your side" sound mark. The complaint puts the company's 2025 sales at $73.2 billion, its 2024 assets at $322.3 billion, and notes its No. 72 ranking on the 2024 Fortune 100.
The filing's most striking material is a series of consumer messages Nationwide says it received. According to the complaint, one person wrote: "I am writing to inform you of a company in Melville, New York by the name of Nationwide Mortgage Bankers who is impersonating the actual Nationwide company. I was looking to apply for a mortgage with Nationwide but instead came across this fake imposter."
Another wrote, according to the filing: "they answer the phone as Nationwide and also claim to be the only Nationwide."
A Nationwide policyholder, the complaint says, reported being told by callers from the mortgage firm: "As an existing Nationwide policy holder you must complete a refinance with Nationwide in order to maintain your current rate and coverage." The policyholder said they almost agreed before figuring out the company was unrelated to the insurer.
Nationwide says it raised the issue with the defendant, which represented that it would rebrand to "NMBNow." The two sides worked on a settlement but did not reach one, the complaint says. The rebrand has been only partial, according to the filing: the old mark still appears on the defendant's website, on a Bronx, New York branch, and on wrapped vehicles that Nationwide says it first saw on the defendant's Facebook page in 2026. Traffic from the old domain, the complaint alleges, is being redirected to nmbnow.com.
Nationwide is asking for a permanent injunction, transfer of the nationwidemortgagebankers.com domain, destruction of infringing materials, and either treble damages and the defendant's profits, or statutory damages of $100,000 per cybersquatted domain under federal cybersquatting law. The insurer is also seeking attorneys' fees and prejudgment interest.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Nationwide Mortgage Bankers Inc. has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled.
