Chetwood Bank has announced it has appointed respected industry expert Alan Cleary as interim managing director of its mortgages division.
As the bank continues with the next phase of its growth journey, Cleary will take over in the driving seat from Andrew Arwas, who has stepped down from the role.
Cleary, who has worked in specialist lending for more than 30 years, is best known for co-founding Charter Court Financial Services, which merged with OneSavings Bank (OSB Group) in 2019. He led the Precise Mortgages, Kent Reliance for Intermediaries, and InterBay Commercial brands until announcing his retirement from the industry in 2021. He was named as chair of the Chetwood Bank’s mortgage advisory board in 2024.
Arwas was one of the original founders of the business in 2016 and fulfilled a number of roles, including head of delivery and corporate development, and director of transformation. As managing director of mortgages, he oversaw the launch of the ModaMortgages proposition and the successful acquisition and integration of CHL Mortgages for Intermediaries.
Chetwood Bank will name a permanent successor to Arwas in due course.
Cleary said: “The vision Chetwood Bank has for increasing funding into the buy to let market and working with brokers to help even more of their landlord clients persuaded me to come out of retirement, so I’m delighted to be able to step up and help steer the bank through the next stage of its growth journey.”
Paul Noble, CEO of Chetwood Bank, added: “I’m delighted to announce that Alan has agreed to take over the reins of our mortgages division. We’re fortunate to have such an experienced and safe pair of hands available to us while we look to appoint a permanent successor to Andrew.
“Andrew is one of Chetwood Bank’s original founders and played a crucial role in helping us expand from a small startup to the successful digital challenger bank we are today.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew for everything he did during his time here and to say how grateful we are for his drive, determination and vision.”
