The Dudley Building Society has announced the appointment of Karen Wilshere as a non-executive director. 

Wilshere (pictured) has spent 30 years specialising in credit and fraud risk control in financial services and runs a risk management consultancy. She has held director positions at Alliance & Leicester, Abbey National and Zopa before spending eight years at the FSA and FCA, looking at both credit risk and conduct risk in Firms.

Jeremy Wood, chief executive of the Dudley Building Society, said: “As a regional building society, we are delighted to welcome someone with Karen’s experience and her proven skills in the area of risk management will be of particular value. We face the challenges of a market where mortgage customer needs are changing.

“Ensuring best outcomes for those customers have to be balanced with maintaining profitability and fulfilling our obligations to our saver members as a safe haven for their money. Karen’s expertise will be a valuable asset.”

Wilshere added: “I am delighted to be joining Dudley Building Society. Now more than ever the UK needs greater diversity in its retail financial markets. Regional building societies play a vital role in not only providing a strong local focus for savings and investment by the communities they serve, but also in their ability to deliver more choice for mortgages through common sense approaches to servicing a wider range of consumer needs than can be achieved by the bigger players.

“I am looking forward to working with Jeremy and my new colleagues to help Dudley Building Society achieve its aims and further improve the relevance of regional building societies in a 21st century market.”