Y3S has appointed Rhys Thomas as its new group compliance director.

He returns to the Cardiff-based secured loans packager after a two-year absence.

Thomas had been working as compliance officer at the Welsh Rugby Union, but was headhunted by the board of Y3S ahead of forthcoming FCA regulation of secured loans. He has 30 years compliance experience in total, with the majority of that time spent at Natwest, and first came to Y3S in 2005 staying on until 2011.

Barney Drake, a director at Y3S, said: “We have been trying to tempt Rhys into this role for a while. We refused to go looking for an alternative person; he is without a doubt the best man for the job and the only choice for us. We are extremely pleased to have him back on the team.”

Thomas added: “It’s great to be back with the team at Y3S again at such an exciting time with regulation just around the corner. Y3S are the leaders in the B2B space and this is a defining moment in the history of our industry. We have some fantastic propositions in the pipeline and the decisions we make over the coming months will undoubtedly be watched closely by our competitors.”

Y3S has just completed a record financial year and will be announced as one of Wales’ fastest growing companies for the second time in two years at the annual FG50 Gala Dinner in Cardiff on Friday evening.