Keith Street will retire from his post as chief commercial officer at The Mortgage Lender at the end of the year after more than 40 years in financial services.

Street is a very popular figure in the industry and received a standing ovation when he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution gong at the Mortgage Strategy Awards last night (20 September) 

Street began work at Barclays International as a teenager, after which he went to Citi Group and former building society Bristol & West.

He held several high-profile roles at The Mortgage Business, The North View Group and Kensington Mortgages, where he successfully steered the Maidenhead-based specialist lender through the 2009 financial crash.

He joined The Mortgage Lender in 2018 and made the transition when the business was bought by Shawbrook Bank in January.

The Mortgage Lender chief executive Peter Beaumont says: “Keith has been a great asset to The Mortgage Lender, our senior leadership team and a huge support for me personally, not to mention a visionary for the specialist lending sector as a whole.

“As a competitor, a friend for 30 years and latterly a colleague he will be sorely missed, but like any great leader, he has built a team around him that will ensure the values and attitude that have made him so valuable to The Mortgage Lender endure in the team he leaves behind as he looks forward to a well-deserved retirement.

The Mortgage Lender’s Street says: “I feel very privileged to have worked in a dynamic industry with great people, I’ve had a fantastic time and enjoyed my career.

“But now is the time for me to retire.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside the team until the end of the year and catching up with colleagues, old and new, in person now we are allowed to.”

The Mortgage Lender sales and product director Steve Griffiths adds: “I have worked with Keith for nearly 20 years, and it is not an understatement to say that he has changed my life.

“Very few people will have experienced the benefits of having a mentor like Keith.

“He has affected and dealt with unprecedented change within our businesses and the wider market and has consistently delivered for his team and his customers.

“I wish him every health and happiness in a long and fulfilling retirement.”