The Interview


Herding cats


Director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders is a big job and Paul Smee believes he’s the man to do it. He tells Sarah Davidson why


Paul Smee hates baked beans. He hates them so much in fact, there is a tacit understanding between him and his wife that if she ever serves him Heinz’ piece de resistance it’s his cue to pack a bag and depart the marital home for good. Smee - 55 later this month, Oxford


educated and a Scouser by birth - is not commonly known for hating anything. He was, common gossip suggests,


given the role of director general at the Council of Mortgage Lenders precisely because he understood how to manoeuvre in political and regulatory circles without raising hackles. He was a civil servant for ten years at the Department for Trade and Industry. Just as well this passionate dislike is


reserved for foodstuffs and not public policy. On that he is far more balanced saying he is confident the long-awaited Mortgage Market Review will hold no “blanket bans” on what lenders can offer borrowers. Proportion is a word he uses repeatedly. The CML director general job was held


for fifteen years by Michael Coogan, who left the organisation in August this year. Coogan achieved much during his reign, including raising public awareness of the many short-comings in the first draft of the MMR. The identity of his successor was


therefore much debated in the run up to


Smee’s appointment and the reasons Smee was given the job continue to pique people’s interest. He’s been described as a “trade body


man through and through” – an accolade some people interpret as meaning he’s a lot less close to the line than the industry felt Coogan could be. But Smee himself is sanguine about the


description. “If you look at my CV I suppose it’s very


difficult to say anything else,” he laughs. He has being running trade bodies for 12 years – first at AIFA and subsequently at the Payments Council. And what does he really think about it? “I like herding cats,” says Smee, matter-


of-factly. “I think the ability to look across an industry’s issues and get a consensus out of it or to get members to understand that by having a differentiated view that can add strength to their position is something I enjoy.” That he understands diplomacy is


evident. But that he is a puppet for the larger CML members – as some people have suggested he may be - is unlikely. “I think trade bodies can help industries


to move forward,” he says. “I want to do that well and hope I will for the mortgage industry. Let’s face it, that is terribly crucial for the economic health of this country.” He is not wrong. With regulatory


change coming at mortgage lenders from 42 mortgage introducer DECEMBER 2011


every angle, capital ratio rules from the international Basel committee, a European directive on mortgage contracts not to mention the redrafted MMR, impending Retail Distribution Review and further consultation on the future of interest-only mortgages it is a job and a half he faces. Although Smee spent five years


heading up AIFA his real experience lies in sectors other than mortgages – the public sector, payments and briefly even television. Some critics have suggested he has not demonstrated a working knowledge of the mortgage market. “I think it’s good for an industry to get


somebody in to its trade body who is not totally steeped in its affairs,” says Smee. “You do get to a point sometimes in trade bodies where you feel you’ve hit your sell by date. Moving on can be good and if you see your objective as moving things forward, a new pair of eyes can be better.”


MappIng The regulaTor “I understand the geography of the authorities,” he says when questioned about what experience and perspective he brings to the table. “I know where the pressure points


are and how the regulatory system fits together with the wider public policy scene. I accordingly understand how, if you want to change people’s attitudes, to achieve that best.”


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