He will succeed Stephen Noakes, mortgage director for Lloyds Banking Group, who has been chairman for the last year.
Moray McDonald joined the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010, when he was appointed director for home lending and in 2014 became managing director of products.
McDonald brings a wealth of international experience to the post having also worked in lending businesses in Australia with Citibank and ANZ, and Spain and Portugal with BBVA and GE.
He said: “As an industry, we know that buying a home is one of the biggest decisions our customers make in their lives.
“We have a responsibility to treat customers fairly and help as many borrowers as possible to buy their home and fuel growth in the economy.
“MMR made 2014 a huge year of change for the industry and we can feel proud of what has been achieved.
"We still face plenty of challenges in 2015, and I look forward to continuing the work the CML has done, under Stephen Noakes as chairman, to improve our customers’ experience of buying their home and managing their mortgage."
McDonald will be supported by two deputy chairmen - Andy Gray, managing director of mortgages, Barclays Bank PLC; and Peter Hill, chief executive, Leeds Building Society.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders currently has 125 members, eight third party administrator members and 86 associates.
