Moray McDonald appointed chairman of the CML

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that it will appoint a new chairman at the beginning of next month.

Moray McDonald, who is the head of personal and business banking products at the Royal Bank of Scotland, will take up the role on January 1st after it was announced Stephen Noakes is to step down from his post.

Mr Noakes had held the job for the last year, while also performing in his position as mortgage director at the Lloyds Banking Group.

Like his predecessor, Mr McDonald has a wealth of experience in the banking sector, having held high-profile roles at institutions in Spain, Portugal and Australia – with BBVA, GE and CitiBank respectively.

Upon announcing he would be chairman, Mr McDonald made reference to the huge importance that mortgage lending plays in people's daily lives. He explained that the right deal can be the difference between responsible debt management and an unreasonable hole in an individual's personal finance.

He said: "As an industry, we know that buying a home is one of the biggest decisions our customers make in their lives. We have a responsibility to treat customers fairly and help as many borrowers as possible to buy their home and fuel growth in the economy."

His comments come amid two years of accelerated growth in the housing market, which has been driven by economic recovery and the influence of Help to Buy.

But the new chairman made reference to the calming influence of Mortgage Market Review (MMR) guidelines, which have brought more control to the market, adding the CML can be "proud of what it has achieved" during the last 12 months.

By Amy White