The review includes an assessment of its current sales and relationship structure, with a number of roles identified as being in danger of redundancy.
Vida said it had entered a 30-day consultation with colleagues impacted by potential changes, which should be completed by November, and affected members of staff will be given “priority consideration for any suitable alternative roles”.
The lender said that further changes would be shared once the consultation period had been completed.
Vida said that the review would lead to a “shift in its business operating model” with the primary focus on ensuring that it is “meeting the priority needs of brokers and their clients, both now and in the future”.
The lender reiterated that it is still aiming to obtain authority from the Prudential Regulatory Authority to operate as a retail deposit taking bank. It added that this would allow it to “compete more effectively” with other bank lenders in the specialist lending market.
“Need to modernise approach”
Anth Mooney (pictured), CEO Belmont Green and Vida Homeloans said that the pandemic had a “huge impact on the mortgage market” in terms of how people interacted and speed of response they expected.
“This has been particularly true of the way brokers work with mortgage lenders when seeking solutions for their clients. As complex cases become more frequent, brokers need to know they can access decision makers capable of giving answers quickly,” he continued.
Mooney added: “For us to do this brilliantly, we need to modernise our approach, prioritising our resources to provide the help and decision support our brokers and partners tell us they need. Our broker relationships are hugely important to us, so our number one priority is to provide a first-class service and be able to accommodate broker needs at every step of the journey.
“Our people are clearly very important to us and we do not take such decisions lightly. For those colleagues whose roles may be impacted, we will be working with them to identify any suitable roles within the business and to give them priority.”
