Nationwide is culling one in four of its mortgage advisers as it shifts to holding online consultations with borrowers.
The building society has launched talks with staff to axe up to 150 of its mortgage consultants. Many are expected to accept voluntary redundancy.
Nationwide ramped up virtual mortgage appointments during the lockdown beginning in March last year. It now carries out more than half of its consultations through its video conferencing service.
Nationwide is planning to speak to most of its mortgage customers online in future
The lender is planning to speak to most of its mortgage customers online in future. It will be offering internet appointments from 8am until 7pm, rather than from 9am until 5pm.
Nationwide currently employs 512 mortgage consultants. It expects to maintain the number of new mortgages it offers customers because 74 per cent of its lending comes via brokers.
A Nationwide spokesman said: ‘We fully recognise that some people will still want to talk to someone on the phone or face-to-face in person, which is why we will continue to offer these services where it’s appropriate in order to meet the needs of members.
‘The move to processing mortgage sales via the video-to-member service allows us to be more efficient, so we do need to reduce our mortgage sales team.’
Separately, the Financial Ombudsman Service this week warned that firms should make sure customers are not negatively affected by the shift towards online services.
Online banking complaints soared by 226 per cent in 2020-21.
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