Coogan steps down as CML director general

Michael Coogan, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, has announced that he will be stepping down from his role in August.

He said the "time is right for me to seek a fresh challenge, safe in the knowledge that the CML will continue to go from strength to strength over the coming years."

He said having successfully navigated the CML through the post-credit crunch period, and with the CML on a stable and successful course, he wishes to seek a fresh professional challenge.

Michael Coogan has been director general of the CML since December 1996, when the organisation became independent from the Building Societies Association.

He was previously head of the legal and policy department of the combined BSA and CML, having originally joined as a lawyer within the policy team in 1987 after previous roles with the Greater London Council, the Consumers Association, and as a barrister.

Coogan said: "The CML is an exceptional trade body, and I am exceptionally proud to have led it through some exciting times."

CML chairman Colin Walsh, managing director of Lloyds Banking Group Mortgages, said: "We are sorry that Michael has decided to stand down as director general, but we wish him every success in his future plans."

Walsh said he was grateful to Coogan for staying until a successor could be appointed.

"On behalf of the UK's mortgage lenders, we thank Michael for what has been an outstanding contribution to the mortgage lending industry over many years, and especially over the turbulent period of the credit crunch and its aftermath."