The mortgage market “definitely remains open” and is expected to settle down in the coming weeks, according to Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB).

MAB head of lending, Brian Murphy, has suggested the market is currently in “a period of consolidation” for most lenders, as they recover their operational resilience during the coronavirus pandemic and adjust to the industry’s new demands.

Murphy said: “Our overall message to borrowers is there are clearly some short-term interruptions being experienced at this moment in time, but the market most definitely remains open, and we would expect things to settle down over the forthcoming weeks.

“This is a period of consolidation for most lenders whilst they recover their operational resilience and get back to normal with dealing with new mortgage applications, enquiries and underwriting as well as existing customers, which has been their focus in the last fortnight or so.

“Lenders are doing their best to adjust to the new demands placed upon them and aim to widen the range of mortgage products they can currently offer at the earliest opportunity.”

MAB also said that lenders are now under “incredible pressure” to deal with an increased volume of new mortgage payment holiday measures, after Rishi Sunak’s recent announcements put in place by the Government.

Murphy suggested there are approximately 10 million mortgage account holders in the UK, and that lenders had been fielding “hundreds of thousands” of enquiries from mortgage borrowers who have called their lender and tried to access a mortgage payment holiday.

“Consequently, mortgage lenders have had to divert considerable operational resources to cater for this significant increase in existing borrower telephone traffic,” Murphy continued.

“There are also factors such as the technology we’re using when working from home not being the most efficient or the broadband connection just isn’t up-to scratch – all adding to the capacity issues faced by lenders in dealing with customer calls. 

“This is the very reason why some lenders are now reducing their loan to value (LTV) ratios, as by doing so they reduce what are often the more resource intensive elements of mortgage processing allowing them to focus their current finite resources on servicing existing customers.

“Therefore, we’re seeing the knock-on effect in the wider market, particularly disruption for new borrowers.”

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