Digital bank Chetwood unveils former Precise Mortgages CEO Ian Lonergan as new group chair

Founded in 2016, Wrexham-based Chetwood Financial is a digital bank that has four consumer products – LiveLend, BetterBorrow, SmartSave and Wave – and is soon to launch ModaMortgages, a new specialist buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage lender.

Lonergan has worked in financial services for over 30 years. He was previously the CEO and founder of Precise Mortgages, which grew to be one of the largest BTL and residential specialist mortgage lenders in the UK.

The parent company of Precise Mortgages and Charter Savings Bank, Charter Court Financial Services, where Lonergan was CEO, became a bank in 2015 and listed on the FTSE 250 in 2017.

Lonergan, who has also held roles at GMAC, AMP and Ernst & Young, has been working with Chetwood on ModaMortgages since 2021, playing an instrumental role in the strategy, design and launch of the new mortgage business.

Now as Chetwood’s group chair, Lonergan will provide effective leadership of the company’s board. His other principal responsibilities include offering strong strategic oversight for Chetwood’s growth, supporting and challenging managers within the business, and bringing forward new proposals to ensure Chetwood continues as a progressive force in the way it delivers financial products and services in a complex, fast-changing environment.

Lonergan said: “I am delighted to take up this new role. Working on the ModaMortgages proposition behind the scenes over the past two years, I have seen first-hand that Chetwood is absolutely committed to finding smarter, faster and simpler ways to help people financially. The upcoming launch of ModaMortgages is very exciting, but across the board, Chetwood is delivering products that truly stand out in a financial services sector that can often be slow and inflexible. I’m looking forward to helping guide the company as it continues on its disruptive path.”

Chetwood’s founder and CEO, Andy Mielczarek, added: “Ian has already played a fundamental part in shaping ModaMortgages, the new BTL lending proposition that we’re excited to bring to market in the coming months. We’re really pleased to now have him as our group chair – he brings an immense amount of financial services experience and knows how to help companies scale at pace while offering an exceptional customer experience. Ian will undoubtedly help Chetwood forge new ground and accelerate our mission to find better ways to deliver financial products.”