Babette Reynolds, Founder and Principal
Babette Reynolds is a former Chief Compliance Officer with more than 25 years of compliance, financial crimes and risk leadership at Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Truist, MUFG and Wise, a high-growth cross-border payments fintech.
She has been recruited again and again to solve the hardest problems in regulated finance: remediating OCC and FRB consent orders, MRAs and MOUs at Bank of America, Citi and MUFG, transforming enterprise compliance programs and preparing institutions for regulators, bank partners and investors.
Most recently, as Chief Compliance Officer for Wise's U.S. and Canadian licensed money transmitters, she remediated multi-state and single-state consent orders, built AI-driven compliance monitoring and testing, and redesigned the compliance program to enable compliant growth. She also led the compliance build for a proposed national trust bank charter.
Babette is an attorney admitted in North Carolina and began her career as a U.S. Army Military Intelligence Officer, serving as a tactical intelligence officer in Germany and as a strategic intelligence officer and alert center briefer at the Pentagon. She founded Reynolds Advisory in 2026 and is based in Asheville, North Carolina.
Career highlights
| Organization | Role | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Reynolds Advisory | Founder and Principal | Board advisory and interim leadership for banks and fintechs |
| Wise | Chief Compliance Officer, U.S. and Canada | Remediated multi-state and single-state consent orders; built AI-driven monitoring and testing |
| Bank of America | Managing Director | Led global financial crimes program remediation tied to an OCC consent order and FRB findings |
| Truist | Head of Enterprise Compliance Program Office | Redesigned the compliance program from regional bank standards to a program fit for a top-10 U.S. bank after the BB&T and SunTrust merger |
| MUFG Union Bank | Managing Director | Led remediation of enterprise regulatory findings and built the U.S. in-business risk and control framework office |
| Wells Fargo | Director | Documented 8,000+ key compliance controls |
| Citi | Head of Global Third-Party Management Governance | Managed OCC and FRB exams and remediation; oversaw risk for 8,500 supplier relationships across four regions |
| Bank of America | Senior Vice President | Resolved OCC and FRB consent orders and findings across global compliance programs |
| Helms Mulliss & Wicker (now McGuireWoods) | Attorney, Syndicated Finance | Practiced syndicated finance law in Charlotte, North Carolina |
| U.S. Army | Military Intelligence Officer (Captain) | Six years of active duty as a tactical intelligence officer in Germany, including acting commander of a 240-person intelligence company, and as a strategic intelligence officer and alert center briefer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon |
Credentials
- J.D. with Honors, UNC School of Law
- M.S. Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University
- M.A. International Relations, Boston University
- B.A., Duke University
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Speaking
Babette is an industry speaker at conferences including American Bankers Association Digital Banking, Money 20/20 and Fintech Generations.
Community
- Founder and Board President, The Path Forward Foundation
- Past Board President, International House
- Board Member, The Light Factory