The History of IMLA

IMLA began life as the Association of Mortgage Lenders (AML). AML was incorporated in June 1988 as a trade body to represent the view of the newly emerged ‘centralised’ lenders in a rapidly changing and expanding mortgage market. These lenders had no branches and used a wholesale funding model and intermediary-based mortgage sales channel.

In 1989 Abbey National Building Society became a bank and this prompted the Building Societies Association in which it had been a member to consider creating a new trade body that could include both a mortgage bank such as the Abbey, the new centralised lenders plus the banks and insurance companies who had become active in the mortgage market. AML along with the BSA, the British Bankers Association, the Association of British Insurers and the Finance and Leasing Association came together to form the industry wide Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). From the outset, CML membership included AML members as well as high street banks, building societies, insurance companies and finance houses.

In 1995 the AML changed its name to The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), to reflect members’ specific expertise in and focus on all issues relating to the generation of mortgage business via professional financial intermediaries.

IMLA Membership now includes UK banks, building societies, subsidiaries of overseas banks and mortgage lender subsidiaries of UK companies set up to carry out specific UK mortgage lending operations.

IMLA has a strong and independent voice on all intermediary-based mortgage lending issues partly reflecting the scale of that sector but also a programme of development of the association. IMLA is also active in its support of the CML, through members on the Executive Committee and on CML sub-committees and panels.

IMLA is run on a day to day basis by its Executive Director, Peter Williams, who is also currently acting as its Executive Chairman. He reports to the five Directors of IMLA on a regular basis and through monthly Management Committee meetings. All members are able to attend the bi-monthly Executive Committee meetings where IMLA policy is discussed and agreed. There is an annual election in October/November for the post of Director and members are thus able to exercise considerable control over the direction and running of the trade body.

For a list of past chairs of IMLA please follow this link.

IMLA Constitution

A copy of IMLA’s constitution can be found here. This is reviewed regularly to ensure it is fit for purpose. It was last reviewed in 2009. More details of the Annual Elections are given here.