A Bradford building society chief, whose organisation has been hailed for offering the UK’s best mortgage deals, has been appointed to a top role in shaping financial services regulation.

Iain Cornish, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, has been appointed chairman of the Financial Services Practitioner Panel of the industry regulator, the Financial Services Authority. He will serve a two-year term.

Mr Cornish, a former chairman of the Building Societies Association who has led YBS since 2003, will head a sounding board to ensure the views of financial service firms are taken into account at a time when new regulation takes shape in the wake of the banking crisis and credit crunch.

Mr Cornish, who has been a member of the Panel since 2007, said: “The FSA is currently under more pressure than ever. Everyone has an interest in the effective and proportionate regulation of financial services.

“I want to ensure that the Practitioner Panel helps the FSA to get the balance right, and that it provides a constructive industry voice on the issues which are at the heart of FSA policy making.”

FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner said: “The Practitioner Panel provides the FSA with a senior industry sounding board which is extremely valuable in ensuring we take firms’ interests into account.”

An economist, Mr Cornish joined the Yorkshire from Bradford & Bingley Building Society in 1992 and held a number of senior posts before being appointed chief executive.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Building Society has been singled out by a new survey as offering the UK’s best mortgage deals. According to the website realpricecomparison.com the YBS was the most competitive of all the societies, offering 14 per cent of best buy products, or 11 deals, nearly double the six mortgages offered by Nationwide which were best buys.

Mr Cornish said: “We’re not surprised to be named the most competitive building society in the mortgage market.

“We’ve reduced rates on many of our mortgages and launched new products, including two new first-time buyer mortgages available from today which have no upfront fees, £500 cashback and a very competitive rate.”