The Mortgage Lender has paused residential applications with immediate effect in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation and the current paralysis of the capital markets used for securitisation.

Buy to let applications are unaffected because The Mortgage Lender’s Buy to let funding is not dependent on capital markets. It is also exploring further use of desktop valuations (AVMs) in view of the government’s social distancing instructions.

The Mortgage Lender Deputy Chief Executive Peter Beaumont said: “It is right for us to pause residential applications at this time.

“Our staff are focused on supporting our customers and business partners in the coming weeks.

“All staff are now working remotely and we are collaborating to maintain health and wellbeing as we get used to new ways of working.

“Our teams are also actively supporting customers who are impacted by COVID-19 at this challenging time. We are continuously reviewing our forbearance policies to make sure we are doing everything we can, this includes the option of payment holidays for up to three months, in line with the recent government announcement.

“We will provide regular updates for our customers and partners over the coming weeks.”