Digital bank Chetwood Financial has appointed Ian Lonergan as its group chair.     

Lonergan has worked with the lender since 2021 on the launch of its new mortgage buy-to-let business ModaMortgages, which plans to offer loans to a range of investors such as first-time, portfolio, and limited company landlords through a national network of mortgage brokers.  

The firm says Lonergan will oversee growth at the group, which was granted a full UK banking licence in 2018, and will also “support and challenge managers within the business”.  

Lonergan has worked in financial services for over 30 years and was previously the chief executive and founder of BTL and residential specialist mortgage lender Precise Mortgages for over a decade. He has also held senior posts at GMAC, AMP and Ernst & Young.  

Precise Mortgages, which is owned by Charter Court Financial Services alongside Charter Savings Bank, became a bank in 2015 and listed on the FTSE 250 two years later.  

Lonergan says: “Working on the ModaMortgages proposition behind the scenes over the past two years, I have seen first-hand that Chetwood is absolutely committed to finding smarter, faster and simpler ways to help people financially.   

“The upcoming launch of ModaMortgages is very exciting, but across the board, Chetwood is delivering products that truly stand out in a financial services sector that can often be slow and inflexible.”  

Chetwood Financial founder and chief executive, Andy Mielczarek adds: “Ian has already played a fundamental part in shaping ModaMortgages, the new BTL lending proposition that we’re excited to bring to market in the coming months.   

“We’re really pleased to now have him as our group chair – he brings an immense amount of financial services experience and knows how to help companies scale at pace while offering an exceptional customer experience.”