New AMI director-general appointed

Stephen Gay, has been named director-general at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI). He has more than 25 years’ industry experience, having worked for a range of top finance firms including Prudential and Standard Life.

Most recently serving as director of distribution development at Aviva UK Life, Mr Gay has also been appointed director-general of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) and the Association of Finance Brokers (AFB). He replaces Chris Cummings, who left the position in August.

Lord Deben, chairman of AIFA, AMI and AFB, says: “[Mr] Gay has an excellent understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by advisers, including the tough economic climate and the ever-changing regulatory agenda. He is well placed to lead our work and build on the significant contribution made by Chris Cummings and his team.

“The advice sector continues to be dominated by the Retail Distribution Review, the Mortgage Market Review and wider regulatory architectural changes. But challenging though these initiatives are, we have a major opportunity to ensure the critical importance of our profession is more widely understood. As the most trusted sector of the financial services industry, we must develop an even stronger voice for the intermediary profession in the UK and Europe.”

AMI presents the collective views of its membership to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and to relevant policymakers. Along with the FSA, equity release trade body Safe Home Income Plan (SHIP), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI), AMI is involved in running the Equity Release Forum, which promotes open discussion about equity release and allows visitors to the site to exchange ideas, opinions and advice about the sector and the various equity release products that are available.