Afin Bank has appointed Beth Jeffs as head of product and proposition, with responsibility for the development strategy of its mortgage and savings products.
Jeffs (pictured) joins from Nottingham Building Society, where she was senior mortgage propositions manager. She has also held product and credit risk roles at HSBC, Coventry Building Society and Sainsbury’s Bank.
In her new role, she will oversee the strategy for Afin’s lending products, aimed at borrowers who struggle to secure home loans from mainstream providers because their circumstances do not meet standard product and affordability criteria.
The bank said its current target customer base includes self-employed borrowers, people with multiple income streams, qualified professionals, high-net-worth borrowers and foreign nationals working in the UK on valid visas. It is also considering how it can support other emerging customer segments.
Jeffs will also focus on the development of Afin’s savings proposition, including a wider range of products to attract and retain customers in a competitive market. The bank said its app-based savings service had already gained traction with savers.
Jeffs said: “I like the vision that Afin has; wanting to help customers that aren’t served by the high street lenders. There are still lots of people who find it hard to access lending, even if they are credit worthy, because they are not looked at as an individual by lenders.
“This is an exciting challenge because Afin is still growing, so I can use my experience and insight to help shape the direction of travel. The mortgage and savings sectors are a crowded and competitive space, so Afin needs to stand out and show brokers, borrowers and savers why we are different and how we support them.”
Jeffs will report to Charles Resnick, chief financial officer at Afin Bank, who has taken on responsibility for the bank’s lending and savings strategy. He will oversee the product roadmap for the bank, which launched last year.
Resnick added: “Having recently taken on overall responsibility for the bank’s product strategy it was key that we hired someone with experience in the sector and philosophy of product innovation, as we grow the bank.
“Beth is a key strategic addition to our team, bringing an important focus on the development of mortgages and savings accounts that combine Afin’s technical ability and understanding of the marketplace to create products that customers want and need.
“Her experience of both the banking and mutual sectors is invaluable in helping us to balance our commercial objectives while ensuring we maintain our customer-first approach for people who are underserved in the UK.”
