Speaking on Mortgage Solutions Television in association with Kensington Mortgages, Reynolds noted the regulator would expect everyone in the industry to be able to adopt more flexible working policies.
Reynolds, who is also chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) noted that the pandemic had caused business continuity plans to be re-written across the industry and taken technology forward.
“As with probably a lot of other businesses, we moved our IT infrastructure probably 12 months forward in a week from where we were going to go,” he said.
“I think a lot of businesses were looking at being agile working from home a lot more, and it’s something that we wanted to do during the year, we just did it in March instead.”
He continued: “I think people will do that and I think the regulator will expect it.
“The regulator will especially talk to lenders and say where are your plans moving forward, how can you cope with that capacity?”
However, despite the switch to conducting business remotely, there is still a demand from borrowers for face-to-face advice.
Adrian Scott, group mortgage services director of Connells Group noted until the latest set of restrictions were imposed, customers were still wanting to come into branches.
“We’ve made a big change, we’ve adapted and now we do the majority of our business over the phone, but not all of it,” Scott said.
“Until the last week or so – customers did want to come in. So while branches are set up with PPE and screens and all the right protocols, customers were still wanting to come in and receive face-to-face advice.
“It was a fairly small percentage, but nonetheless it shows there is that appetite there and I don’t think that will go away,” he added.
Scott also echoed views from other contributors that businesses would need to continue to be flexible, and listen to customers and employees about the best way to operate.
