First Mortgage Trust appoints chief risk officer

First Mortgage Trust (FMT), has appointed Sam Johnstone as its inaugural chief risk officer.

This newly created role reflects FMT’s continued commitment to robust and integrated risk management: delivering consistent investment returns for investors and providing specialist property lending solutions.

Johnstone brings more than 20 years of experience in banking and risk management. He began his career as an agribusiness lender at Rabobank and progressed into senior risk leadership roles. Most recently, he served as global head of risk change and implementation at Rabobank’s head office in the Netherlands, where he led cross-functional teams to implement regulatory changes and uplift risk frameworks across the wholesale & rural global business.

“We’re really pleased to welcome Sam to FMT,” FMT chief executive Paul Bendall says. “His extensive expertise across credit and operational risk, along with a strong commercial mindset, makes him a great addition to our leadership team."

"The creation of the chief risk officer role reinforces our ongoing commitment to strong risk governance as we grow our funds under management and loan book.”

Johnstone will play a pivotal role in enhancing FMT’s risk frameworks and supporting its dual mission: to provide consistent, reliable returns to investors and offer flexible, property lending solutions.

“Effective, proactive risk management is critical to successful execution in both the investment and lending functions," Johnstone says.