The lender, which currently sources 55 per cent of its business from intermediaries, claimed the move was necessary to ensure its service levels remained high.
Anna Blackwell, public relations manager for the Nottingham Building Society, said: “Having recently won awards for our service we were keen to maintain our standards. We expect the withdrawal to remain in place for weeks rather then months.”
According to John Murray, editor of Mortgage Finance Gazette, there could be a number of reasons why a building society takes this sort of action. “It could be to protect service levels, or it could be about matching funding. Balance sheet management may also be an issue here,” he said.
Commenting on the announcement, David Barrett owner and principal of Plain Savings, said: “That is just typical. Can’t lenders anticipate volume levels and then ease out of the marketplace when over subscribed. What about the poor broker who has been promoting this product, only to find they have no time to get the application in.”
