NORTHERN LIGHT John Truswell
I
n a career that spans nearly 40 years, the city of Newcastle has played a central role in John Truswell’s life, his career and his successes. Having graduated from Northumbria University in 1984 with a degree in Geography, Truswell began his career working for the Nationwide Building Society in Newcastle, and then in other branches in the North East on a graduate scheme. After that, he joined Bradford & Bingley in the Midlands in 1989, before going on to help set up a mortgage brokerage. In 1996, Truswell returned to Newcastle and joined Northern Rock as part of its intermediary sales management team. Following the 2008 crash, he became the head of national accounts at Virgin Money, before moving on to Capital Home Loans in 2016, and then to Together one year later, as its head of national accounts. Last year, he joined Newcastle Building Society as head of intermediary mortgages.
46
MORTGAGE INTRODUCER MAY 2020
As someone who has seen it all, is the industry in better shape now than when you first joined it? It’s fair to say I have seen the mortgage market change beyond recognition, but most of those changes have been necessary and welcome. The booms and busts of the housing market in the 1990s and 2008, and the reductions now in 2020, underline why developing a responsible and resilient lending industry has been so important. No single model is right, but all have to withstand and embrace hugely varied stresses and pressures, whether from global markets, policymakers, technology or society. Our role and responsibility is to help people satisfy a very human need: to have somewhere safe to live. Brokers play a significant part in delivering that experience to borrowers. They are an extension of our business and have evolved immeasurably as an industry too. www.mortgageintroducer.com
