Tanya McCartney

Tanya McCartney is a UK trained barrister and chartered banker who since 2016 has served as the CEO and Executive Director at the Bahamas Financial Services Board. Over the past two decades Tanya has distinguished herself as a hardworking professional with expertise in the law, regulatory and gaming compliance, risk management, banking, and international financial services. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (Upper Second Class) from the University of Reading (United Kingdom), A Master of Laws degree with Merit from the London School of Economics and Political Science (London, U.K.), an MBA in Leadership from The College of the Bahamas as well as a Chartered Banker MBA from the University of Bangor in Wales (United Kingdom). Tanya is a doctoral candidate at Edinburgh Napier University, U.K. with a focus on Organisational Change Management. She holds an International Compliance Association (ICA) special certificate in Money Laundering Risk in Betting and Gaming and is also a Certified Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. Tanya commenced her legal profession in 1997 as Assistant Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General working in civil litigation representing government ministries, agencies, and departments. She has also served in the criminal prosecution division. In 1999 Tanya moved into the private sector as legal counsel and compliance officer for a local private bank. She has served in various senior positions with several international banking institutions in The Bahamas. Miss McCartney previously worked as Assistant General Counsel in the hospitality sector and served as Managing Director of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), RBC FINCO for six years commencing in 2008. She joined RBC in 2006 as Regional Manager for Compliance for the Bahamas and the Caribbean with responsibility for the Caribbean (The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean countries). Tanya currently plays a critical role in facilitating collaboration between the private sector and policy makers in The Bahamas with respect to all the global regulatory initiatives impacting the financial services sector. She serves as an advocate for over 250-member financial services institutions that are members of The Bahamas Financial Board. Since 2016 Tanya has organized and lead contingents of Bahamian professionals to promote the Bahamas as an international financial centre in The United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. The primary objective is to increase international awareness of the Bahamas value proposition as an international financial centre. She is playing a central role in rebranding the jurisdiction as an international business centre. Tanya is intimately involved in the development of a strategic plan for sustainability of the Bahamian financial services industry. She has presented at conferences in Africa, South America, and the United States. Tanya was appointed to the Senate of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 2001 being one of the youngest persons ever appointed to the Upper House where she served for five years. She vied for a seat in parliament in the 2002 general elections. She is a former President and founding member of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers. She is the co-chairman of the Bahamas Chapter of the global Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. Tanya is also an adjunct professor in the School of Business at the University of the Bahamas. She has served on several government boards over the years including The Public Hospital’s Authority, The University of The Bahamas and currently serves as Chairman of The Police Complaints Inspectorate and Deputy Chairman on The Airport Authority. Tanya was awarded the Bahamas ICON Award for financial services in 2018 and in 2020 received The Woman of The Year “Highly Commended” Award from UK based International Investment for her work in financial services. She is the author of “Strategies for Success: A Roadmap for the Compliance Professional in Financial Services” which is available at Amazon, iBooks and BookBaby. She is a vestry member at St. Barnabas Anglican Church.