Leeds Building Society has appointed Martese Carton to the newly-created role of director of mortgage distribution.

She will lead both its broker and direct mortgage teams nationally.

Carton (pictured) joined the Society as head of intermediary distribution in summer 2016 and since then has led the function which serves and supports mortgage brokers and financial advisers, who are, and will continue to be, responsible for the vast majority of the mutual’s lending.

She said “My time with the Society has seen huge change, for the business and the wider industry, and the expectations of borrowers and our intermediary partners continue to evolve.

“There is a wealth of knowledge and experience within the Society, which enables us to give great service and personalised attention, and we continue to invest heavily in our mortgage lending teams, whether in improving IT systems or expanding key teams and creating skilled jobs, such as mortgage underwriters.

“Successfully launching Mortgage Hub, our online platform, has made the application process quicker and easier for our intermediary partners and give us the capability to link seamlessly with other industry systems.

“Our better use of technology also frees up colleagues for more complex cases and person-to-person inquiries.

“We’re continuing to add further enhancements to Mortgage Hub for the benefit of brokers and the next phase of this major project will be rolling out the platform so consumers can use it too.”

Andy Moody, Chief Commercial Officer at Leeds Building Society, added: “The continuing investment in our mortgage lending service and systems is proof our our commitment to our purpose, to bring home ownership within reach for more people,.

“We’re in a time of huge technological change for our industry and competition in the mortgage market remains extremely fierce.

“I’m confident Martese’s strong experience and leadership skills will help us to remain successful in the face of these many challenges.”