Virgin Money has appointed Andy Cooke, formerly of Bank of Ireland, as a national account manager.
Cooke was previously a national account manager at Bank of Ireland for around four years and before that was a corporate account manager for around two years for Wales and the West for over two years.
Prior to that he was a regional business development manager for Mortgage Advice Bureau in Gloucester for nearly three years and branch manager at Westcoast Properties, with Gary Berryman Estate Agents, Platinum Financial Management and Standard Life also on his C.V.
A Virgin Money spokesperson said: “Andy has recently joined the Virgin Money intermediaries national account team and we’re delighted to have him on board working with our broker partners.”
Virgin Money has made some changes to its national accounts team in recent months, with the appointment of Matt Martin to head of national accounts to take over for Nicola Goldie who left the business for Aldermore.
It has also been changing its criteria, extending its maximum term for all residential mortgages to 40 years, up from 35 years previously.
The lender has also improved its affordability assessment for residential mortgages fixed for five years or longer.
The company’s gross mortgage lending based on its full-year results, which end on 30 September, came to £57.8bn, down from £58.5bn during the same period last year.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
