The Equity Release Council has created a risk, policy and compliance team and made two new senior hires as part of the unit.

The new roles are head of risk, policy and compliance and a risk, policy and compliance manager.

The risk, policy and compliance team is designed to improve the Council’s standards as the organisation continues to evolve to support a consumer-focussed later life lending market. The team will play a major role as an oversight function, while developing information and recommendations to the Council’s Standards Board and committees.

Kelly Melville-Kelly has been appointed head of risk, policy and compliance. She brings over 20 years of financial services expertise, working with both lenders and networks in later-life lending, helping to drive improvements and create best practice. She has previously held regulated positions at Alliance & Leicester and Legal & General.

Sue Read is taking up the role of risk, policy and compliance Manager, bringing a wide range of experience as a BDM, underwriter, operations manager, trainer, compliance officer and, most importantly, adviser, across a number of firms and networks.

These latest hires follow the addition of two senior hires at the Council last month – a business development and membership manager and a public affairs manager.

Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council, said: “I am delighted to welcome Kelly and Sue to the Council at this time of growth for our organisation. 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.”