The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) has targeted more than 200 signatories by the end of 2022.

MIMHC, which launched in October last year, is a not-for-profit collaboration between co-founders Brightstar, Chartwell FS, Coreco, Crystal Specialist Finance, Knowledge Bank, Landbay and Simply Biz.

Speaking on Simply Biz’s webinar, MIMHC co-founder Jason Berry said getting more than 200 signatories is “an absolute must for us in 2022”.

Berry said there is “a real cross section of current signatories” ranging from small directly authorised brokerages to regional building societies, specialist lenders, mortgage clubs and challenger banks.

“Signatories simply pledge to have a mental health focus within their organisation and commit to keep conversations going so people affected do not suffer in silence,” he added.

Referencing a Crystal Specialist Finance survey from 2021, Berry highlighted that 73% of respondents said their company did not participate in any mental health or wellbeing initiatives and that 10% of all sick days taken the previous year were a direct result of poor mental health.

On the webinar, Simply Biz’s chief executive officer Martin Reynolds explained: “For years many companies in our sector have either ignored or had internal wellbeing practices that were not signposted well enough for staff. MIMHC therefore aims to proactively increase mental health awareness to help firms with this change and crucially share best practice tips so open and honest conversations are encouraged.”