Castleigh Johnson — Fintech Risk and Compliance Advisor
I work with fintechs and financial institutions to build the compliance infrastructure, bank partnerships, and risk frameworks they need to grow in a regulated market. My work sits at the intersection of strategy and execution: not just identifying what needs to exist, but building it.
Background
My career spans fintech startups, financial institutions, and advisory roles across business development, risk management, compliance, and partnership development. I have led teams accountable for bank partner relationships, regulatory compliance programs, and financial product launches.
I hold an MBA in Finance and Accounting from NYU Stern School of Business, where I was a JP Morgan Investment Banking Fellow, and a BS in Management and International Business from Penn State University, where I was a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow, a Bunton Waller Scholarship Fellow, and a Division I student athlete.
That combination of finance rigor and operational experience informs how I approach advisory work: problems get solved, not just analyzed.
Areas of Expertise
Bank Partnership Development
Negotiating and structuring bank-fintech partnerships from initial due diligence through executed program agreements. Experience on both sides of the table.
Fintech Compliance Programs
Building compliance programs for pre-launch and scaling fintechs across BSA/AML, UDAAP, fair lending, data privacy, and consumer protection.
Risk Management
Enterprise risk management frameworks, operational risk controls, and regulatory risk assessment for financial services companies at all stages.
BaaS and Embedded Finance
Deep familiarity with banking-as-a-service structures, program manager obligations, and the compliance requirements that govern fintech-bank relationships under current OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve guidance.
Financial Inclusion
Product and partnership strategy for companies building financial products for underserved communities. CRA credit identification, CDFI engagement, and mission-aligned fintech design.
Startup Operations
As a fintech founder, I understand what building a company actually requires: not idealized frameworks, but practical infrastructure that works at seed stage and scales.
How I Work
Advisory engagements are scoped and priced as fixed-fee projects with defined deliverables. I do not sell retainers where the work is undefined, and I do not produce advice without documentation that the client can use. Every engagement ends with written deliverables formatted for the audience that matters: bank examiners, bank sponsors, investors, or your own board.
My practice focuses on fintechs and financial institutions in the United States. I am not a licensed attorney and do not provide legal advice. Compliance and risk advisory work produced in this practice should be reviewed by qualified legal counsel before being relied upon for regulatory submissions or enforcement matters.