Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) members have voted to retain the organisation’s chairman and deputy chairman, following a year of growth that has seen its membership of lenders increase from 30 to 34, a post-recession high.

Kevin Purvey of Coventry Building Society was re-elected for a second year as IMLA’s chairman, along with Phil Rickards of Lloyds Banking Group who continues as deputy chairman.

Also re-elected as directors were John Heron of Paragon Group and Charles Haresnape of Aldermore. They will be joined by Paul Darwin of Skipton Building Society, who replaces Precise Mortgages’ Alan Cleary while Louisa Sedgwick of Vida Homeloans returns as a co-opted director.

IMLA has welcomed an additional four members to its ranks in 2016: CHL Mortgages, The Mortgage Lender, Tesco Bank and Vida Homeloans. The 34 members sit alongside ten associate members.

Purvey said: “IMLA represents an unrivalled forum for banks, building societies and specialist lenders committed to supporting the intermediary sector. It has given me great pleasure to welcome our four new members over the course of the year. As a representative body, we see IMLA’s collective knowledge as a major source of our strength and I am delighted to continue serving as chairman for 2017.

“New members are incredibly valuable, as they can provide fresh insight on the many challenges facing lenders, brokers and consumers in today’s market. We look forward to working together in the coming year to build on what has been a challenging but ultimately successful 12 months which has seen mortgage activity hold up well despite uncertainties in the broader environment.”