"I’ll be working closely with my colleague Brad Fordham and the rest of my leadership team to refine our ambitious plans in the coming weeks and months."
- Barry Connolly, managing director of home buying and ownership at NatWest
Barry Connolly has been confirmed as the new managing director of NatWest’s mortgage business.
Prior to taking up this role, Connolly led the everyday banking side of NatWest’s retail banking offer, with responsibility for the delivery of current account, payment and savings propositions for 12 million customers across NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.
He has been with NatWest Group for 21 years, during which time he has held leadership roles in human resources, branch banking, private banking and change management.
Brad Fordham, who held the role on an interim basis following Miguel Sard's departure, will continue to lead and support NatWest’s mortgage distribution business for intermediary and organic channels.
Barry Connolly, managing director of home buying and ownership at NatWest, said: “We’ve made great strides in improving the mortgage experience through our intermediary and direct channels and I’m excited about the further progress we can make in digital engagement. Mortgages are a vitally important area of focus for NatWest and I know there’s more we can do to support customers with one of the biggest purchase decisions that they’ll ever make.
“I’ll be working closely with my colleague Brad Fordham and the rest of my leadership team to refine our ambitious plans in the coming weeks and months.”
NatWest recently announced the acquisition of £2.5bn of prime residential mortgages from Metro Bank adding to its mortgage book. In June, NatWest updated its buy-to-let affordability calculator and introduced dynamic stress testing, then later increased the maximum LTV allowed for new build homes.
