Sard, whose appointment is subject to Financial Services Authority approval, previously held the position of chief executive officer of Santander Insurance Services in the UK, a role which involved managing key relationships with third party distributors and growing Santander’s insurance offering in the UK.
Mathewson will continue to have interim management responsibility for Santander’s branch network, agencies, and telephone distribution.
He will be taking on a broader role in the UK’s retail distribution business with the arrival of Charlotte Hogg, the new head of retail distribution and intermediaries at Santander, in the summer.
Sard who has been with Santander UK since 2007, takes over from Mathewson and will report to Charlotte Hogg,
Sard said: “I am delighted to be joining Abbey for Intermediaries at such an exciting time. As the biggest intermediary lender supporting the market, we’ve worked hard over the past 12 months to improve our offering to intermediaries and to have recently been named number one lender for service is testament to the real progress we’ve made.
“We are committed to becoming the intermediary lender of choice and I look forward to building upon the strong momentum of the past year as we continue to support the market with great products and service.”
