This is Money reported that the society had launched talks with staff which will see it let go of 150 of its mortgage consultants. Many are expected to accept voluntary redundancy.

Like many other lenders Nationwide increased the number of mortgage consultations it holds online during the pandemic with half of those now taking place virtually.

Nationwide currently employs 512 mortgage consultants.

A Nationwide spokesperson told This is Money: “We fully recognise that some people will still want to talk to someone on the phone or face-to-face in person, which is why we will continue to offer these services where it’s appropriate in order to meet the needs of members.

“The move to processing mortgage sales via the video-to-member service allows us to be more efficient, so we do need to reduce our mortgage sales team.”