The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) has created a new steering group to oversee the ongoing development of its Charter and to work alongside the co-founders to evolve and enhance the mental wellbeing support offered by MIMHC.

The new steering group is chaired by Matthew Martin, head of national accounts at Virgin Money and is composed of a cross section of signatories which include representation from mortgage broker firms, challenger banks, regional building societies and mortgage networks.

The group will initially meet quarterly, and its members are:

• Chairperson: Matthew Martin, head of national accounts at Virgin Money.
• Eloise Hall, head of national accounts at Kensington Mortgages.
• Andew Milnes, Business Principal at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
• Jonathan Southgate, Principal at Sterling Southgate.
• Jane Benjamin, director of Mortgages at Connect Mortgages.
• Aaron Noone, director at Master Private Finance.
• Hannah Walker, National Sales Manager at LV Insurance.
• Georgina Betteridge, Product Coordinator at Hinckley and Rugby Building Society.

MIMHC is a not-for-profit organisation, created to raise awareness of employees’ mental health and support the industry in taking positive action to improve it. MIMHC is made up of seven co-founding firms plus almost 80 signatory companies across the mortgage industry.

Martin said: “I feel privileged to lead the conversation and develop the ongoing support MIMHC can offer. Negative mental health does not discriminate, and our sector undoubtedly sees more individuals affected than most. Arranging a mortgage is extremely satisfying when all goes well but over the last few years there have been a number of challenges.

“Recent survey results suggest this has affected sleep patterns and extended working hours for those operating in our sector. The signatory steering group hopes to continue the excellent work of the co-founders and generate meaningful actions so that MIMHC is recognised as the ‘go to’ place for individuals and/or companies seeking mental health and well-being support.”

William Lloyd-Hayward, group chief operating officer at Brightstar Group and co-founder of MIMHC, added: “The MIMHC co-founders have been humbled by the enthusiasm new signatories have demonstrated when pledging support and many have shown a desire get more deeply involved.

“Creating the signatory steering group is therefore a logical progression for us and I am extremely excited to see what further ideas and actions are generated from the group.”