It is commonly said in this industry that someone “fell into” the sector after diverting from other ambitions.
But it may come as a surprise that this was also the case for one of the mortgage world’s best-known and most-respected figures.
However, a young Robert Sinclair’s first grand plan was to become a professional pole vaulter. In fact, he competed for the best club side in Scotland at the time and was on the verge of making the national team.
It’s not the typical route into the mortgage world but this industry is better for the fact that his initial career plan didn’t come to fruition.
You can have the very best proposition but, if the people around you don’t support it, it will die
Sinclair announced his upcoming retirement from the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (Ami) in June last year and the tributes flowed in. As he winds down and prepares to pass the baton to Sesame’s Stephanie Charman later this month, he reflects on his career and lessons learned along the way.
“I left school and picked my uni based on the person who was director of sport there,” Sinclair tells us.
“John Anderson was sports director at Heriot-Watt and the uni had a great athletics reputation, facilities and club. I wasn’t that interested in the academics; I wanted to be an athlete.
“But I got ill a lot and realised that a sporting career was not going to pay my mortgage, ironically.”
Sinclair says he chose a business organisation degree, inspired by a talk given at his school by a successful entrepreneur who had a degree in engineering but explained that business or accounting degrees were transferable to any career path.
Now we’re a much more robust and caring industry
He went through the “usual milkround graduate routine” after finishing his degree and ended up with three job offers, ultimately choosing to work for Midland Bank.
“I liked the people at the bank more than at the other two places,” he quips.
Wide range of roles
Sinclair was at Midland Bank for 21 years, holding various roles including branch manager, corporate banking manager and private banking manager. He also worked in training, auditing, cost reduction and marketing.
“I used to say to youngsters on the graduate programme, they could turn up and become very specialist and jump to different organisations, or be a generalist,” he says. “I was a generalist covering lots of areas, who got moved around. It meant I was always learning and growing.
Don’t ever think there’s anything more important than the customer
“I was still doing athletics but I didn’t really have the time to train with work. Then your job becomes your life and you meet your wife and have kids.”
Sinclair had grown up with great examples of how to run a business: his father ran a post office in Edinburgh, along with four greetings-card shops, while his mother opened the first eight Edinburgh Woollen Mills stores, owned by David Stevenson, who had also taught Sinclair to pole vault.
“My mum ran the whole process of project management and recruitment, so I learned a lot watching her.
“I would ask David [Stevenson] why he approached things as he did, such as putting the cheaper items at the back of the store, which he explained forced people to walk through all the other products and often buy more than they came in for.”
Compelling offer
It finally became time to move on from Midland Bank when Sinclair took a new position with HSBC private banking and, after a few years there, another compelling job offer came about.
“I was running private banking in the northwest of England and had a team of advisers. We were in the middle of putting out a new computer system and it wasn’t going well,” Sinclair recalls.
There are lots of people who want to help you; trust them. But don’t think it’s going to be easy. It’s hard work
“At the same time a head-hunter approached me to join an investment start-up. I had been quite happy where I was but, suddenly, I was really angry about the new computer system.
“All the way through the recruitment process I thought, ‘Something will go wrong,’ while at the same time I was under pressure to sign off the computer system that had too many things wrong with it. I wasn’t going to dump it on my colleagues.”
Eventually, Sinclair was offered the investment job with Inscape Investments, a subsidiary of Abbey (later to become Santander).
“I asked for a salary that was much higher than I thought reasonable and expected to be told, ‘Sod off,’ but they came back and offered a grand less! I had no argument for not going.”
That was in 2000, but by mid-2001 the market had begun to go south and it was a bad time to be launching a business. Sinclair calls it a “disaster”.
I applied all the stuff I had learned over the years about how to start and run a business. It’s all about the people, trust and integrity
He says: “We shut down the front end of the business after three years and transferred the back end into the mainstream business. It was a really interesting learning piece: you can have the best proposition in the world but, if the people around you don’t support it, it will die.
“The retail part of the business was determined to kill it, as often happens. Internal politics often kill ideas.”
As that section folded, two-thirds of the team were made redundant. Sinclair was moved to Milton Keynes to become head of advice development for the investment business, in what was Abbey and then became Santander.
“Initially I was looking after the investment advice guidelines and trading competency for Abbey,” he says.
Bankers are much maligned and misunderstood
A few weeks into the role, however, Sinclair received the news that the team assigned the responsibility of preparing for M Day — when the mortgage market came under the jurisdiction of the FSA (now the FCA) — had done nothing about it.
“We were 13 weeks out from M Day,” says Sinclair. “This was my introduction to mortgage regulation.”
Banking crisis
Not long after Sinclair had navigated that challenge, his foray into the world of trade bodies began when he took on a role with Aifa (Association of Independent Financial Advisers) in 2006.
“Chris Cummings was running Aifa after Paul Smee left and I joined to look after the Association of Finance Brokers, which was the second charge arm,” says Sinclair.
Ami was run by Rob Griffiths at the time and, when he left, Cummings hired Richard Farr. Then Farr left and the banking crisis hit.
The support I’ve had from all sorts of people throughout my career has been phenomenal
“There were no membership fees being paid so we had to consolidate,” says Sinclair.
“Chris was director general and I was director across all three brands as I came with a whole knowledge of investments, pensions, mortgages and protection; I knew the most about the full portfolio.
“For a long time it was the two of us but, when Chris left, it got quite hairy and we realised how little money we had. In 2012, Ami was out on its own.
“We walked out the door with a brand name, a list of members and a leap of faith. We had no money — I left a pound on the table as consideration and the rest is history, to a degree. I applied all the stuff I had learned over the years about how to start and run a business. It’s all about the people, trust and integrity.”
He started working on managing a trade body and dealing with the government, regulators and firms, all of which he says “really didn’t want to know”.
Safer market
Sinclair says the market is now much safer and more honest.
“Back then, Ami was producing fact sheets on how to comply. We don’t need to any more as most firms manage their own risk and compliance. Now we’re a much more robust, professional and caring industry. Everyone competes hard against each other but cares about each other at the same time.
“I think of the people who’ve put their arm around me and made sure I was OK over the years; there are so many of them. Do we disagree at times? Of course. But do they have my back? They absolutely sodding do!”
While Sinclair has had an incredibly busy career and taken on a host of responsibilities in the mortgage sector, his personal life has also been busy.
“In that period I went through a marriage, three kids, a marriage breakdown and met someone else who I’ve been with for 20 years and have a great stepson with, and I now have seven grandchildren. There’s been a lot of learning along the way.”
I used to say to youngsters on the graduate programme, they could turn up and become very specialist and jump to different organisations, or be a generalist
A key lesson Sinclair highlights is that there is hardly anyone in this industry who isn’t passionate about achieving the best outcome for their business and customers.
“Bankers are much maligned and misunderstood,” he says. “When you put it all together, organisationally it often gets screwed up. But nobody starts out with that objective.”
When Sinclair began winding down from his hectic role and planning for his retirement, he had a health scare after nosebleeds led him to visit a consultant. He is characteristically pragmatic about the outlook.
“In December I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and I started chemo in January,” he reveals.
“I’m OK; I’m really lucky because it’s stage one and isolated to one place. The consultant is pretty confident all will be fine.”
Sadly, Sinclair has had to cancel a trip to Dubai this year and another to the Superbowl in the US, as he is not allowed to fly. Instead, he has chosen to continue working until late February, when Charman will take on the role at Ami.
He’s also transitioning to chair of the risk committee at Darlington Building Society, where he has been a non-executive director for some time.
I got ill a lot and realised that a sporting career was not going to pay my mortgage, ironically
“The support I’ve had from all sorts of people throughout my career has been phenomenal. I couldn’t have wished for a better time,” he says.
When asked what advice he would pass on to those starting out in the mortgage industry, Sinclair says: “There are lots of people who want to help you; trust them. But don’t think it’s going to be easy. It’s hard work. Don’t ever think there’s anything more important than the customer.
“The hardest thing when something goes wrong is to pick up the phone. But the thing you should always do is pick up the phone. Dealing with it quickly is what makes a huge difference.”
And Sinclair has certainly made a difference in this industry.
This article featured in the February 2025 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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