Cara Bell was recently at marketing group Chell as its deputy CFO. She is replacing Anthony Murphy, who has been at the mutual since 2022.
Murphy will leave the society in May and Bell will join in April to ensure both that the handover goes smoothly and “appropriate continuity for members”, according to Sue Hayes, Nottingham Building Society’s CEO.
Hayes said: “Cara’s appointment reflects our commitment to building a modern, sustainable mutual – one that puts long-term financial strength, member value, and responsible growth at its core.
“She brings exceptional technical depth and a proven track record of driving transformation in complex, regulated, and multinational environments. Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue strengthening our financial resilience and invest in the capabilities required for the next phase of our growth strategy.”
The big BTL planner: Key dates landlords need to know
Sponsored by BM Solutions
Widening criteria
Nottingham Building Society recently put into place a number of initiatives aimed at widening access to lending, which it said better reflect today’s mortgage market.
These include a wider acceptance of builder incentives, as it will now accept up to 5%, and simpler criteria for self-employed applicants.
The mutual has also widened its lending criteria to include ex-local authority flats, a sector estimated to include around one million properties across the UK. The society will accept lending on these units up to 85% loan to value (LTV).
This applies across both residential and buy to let (BTL), widening access for first‑time buyers and landlords alike.
Miles Kingston, Nottingham Building Society’s sales director, said the changes were part of its desire to “respond to real-world circumstances with clarity and common sense by ensuring that ordinary scenarios for many borrowers are not treated as niche and specialist cases.”
“We’re removing unnecessary barriers, strengthening viable routes into homeownership, and giving brokers more confidence when placing cases that fall outside a narrow definition of ‘standard’,” he added.
