It has made to new senior appointments to manage lead the new team, which will play a major role as an oversight function whilst developing information and recommendations to the Council’s standards board and committees.

Kelly Melville-Kelly (main picture) has been appointed as head of risk, policy and compliance, bringing over 20 years of financial services expertise. Melville-Kelly, who previously held regulated positions at Alliance & Leicester and Legal & General, has worked with both lenders and networks in later-life lending and helped to drive improvements and create best practice.

Sue Read, meanwhile, is taking up the role of risk, policy and compliance manager – it’s a position to which she brings 30 years’ experience as a BDM, underwriter, operations manager, trainer, compliance officer and adviser.

Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council said: “These latest hires complement our professional capabilities and will help to inject even greater pace into the Council’s member and consumer-focused initiatives.

“The creation of a risk, policy and compliance team adds further weight to our role as a standards-setter in the later life sector, as we continue to evolve and revise our important standards.

“Kelly and Sue’s abundance of experience will prove pivotal in helping the Council and the Standards Board ensure we continue to lead the way in setting the bar for best practice in later life lending.

“Given the many opportunities that exist in the market to deliver value to customers, the timing for this recruitment could not be better.”

Melville-Kelly added: “Working with the Council and its members to better support consumers will be a key focus of mine in the months ahead. I’m pleased to join the Council at such an exciting time of growth at the organisation and look forward to working with various committees to implement key initiatives going forward.”

Meanwhile, Read said: “Having been active in the equity release space for over 20 years, I am excited to come on board at this vital time to further reinforce the industry’s rigorous consumer protections. I look forward to working with the team to add value to the Council’s members and to the end customer.”