Hannant will be responsible for developing policy at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and the Association of Finance Brokers.
He has more than 15 years’ experience on public policy and working with government on a range of business and financial services issues.
Stephen Gay, director general of AIFA, said: “Chris has extensive policy experience and knowledge of working both in and with the government and financial services regulators.
“This will be essential to help us represent the interests of our members and deliver a better business environment.
“This year will continue to be dominated by major regulatory initiatives such as the Retail Distribution Review and the Mortgage Market Review as well as wider regulatory architectural changes.
“There is still work to do in these areas, as well as a wide range of other pressing regulatory issues, in order to ensure we achieve the best outcome for members.”
Hannant added: “The industry faces a challenging time with significant regulatory change taking place. I am looking forward to working with members and using my wide ranging policy experience to make a real impact on their behalf, both in the UK and in Europe.
“The financial advice and mortgage intermediary professions provide a vital service in helping consumers to navigate the complexity of financial services and enabling them to make the right decisions.
“It is important that government and regulators recognise this and don’t damage the sector with short-sighted actions that impose burdensome regulatory requirements.”
