It revealed all mortgage products had been temporarily withdrawn from the direct and intermediary market with immediate effect.

During this time, the society will focus on servicing existing applications whilst also implementing the system improvements.

The lender made the decision to halt lending to ensure any service disruption to mortgage borrowers and intermediary partners was kept to a minimum as the final stage of the development process took place.

Indeed, it has been working with DPR since April 2020 to overhaul its entire mortgage and savings platforms. The completion of the overhaul will result in intermediary partners being able to access a new, improved and fully functional online system which will help speed up and simplify the application process.

The Society is aiming to relaunch its lending proposition in Q2 2021.

David Lownds, head of marketing & business development at Hanley Economic Building Society, said: “Work has been going on behind the scenes since April 2020 to transform our mortgage systems to ensure that we move to a more modern model which better reflects the innovative nature of the Society.

“This process is almost complete and we have taken the step to temporarily halt new mortgage lending so that we can make this final transition as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“It marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Society and when we return to the lending market, which will be sooner rather than later, we believe that we will be in a far stronger position to better service the ever-changing needs of our intermediary partners and their clients.”