The Client
The UK subsidiary of a global bank identified Financial Crime as one of the Top 5 risks that could have a significant impact on customers and the bank’s reputation. Criminals were increasingly using the financial system for illegal activities like money laundering, human trafficking, and terrorism. To address these risks and achieve sustainable Financial Crime compliance, Financial Crime Transformation Program (FCTP) was initiated.
Business Challenges
Key challenges needed to be addressed:
1. Data Management: Handling and managing vast amounts of data related to financial transactions, customers, and risk assessments required a robust and scalable data ecosystem.
2. Integration of Systems: Integrating various systems, including NetReveal for Customer Screening, Transaction Monitoring, and Customer Risk Assessment, and SafeWatch for Payment Screening, posed integration challenges.
3. Process Efficiency: Enhancing the efficiency of case management and suspicious activity reporting processes required streamlining the existing workflows.
4. Regulatory Compliance: Meeting the stringent regulatory requirements related to Financial Crime, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Know Your Customer (KYC) demanded adherence to complex compliance standards.
5. Technology Implementation: Implementing data analytics and monitoring tools like Tableau and Appian required expertise in data analytics and business process management.
AdfarTech Solution
AdfarTech devised a comprehensive solution to address the challenges of Financial Crime:
1. Cross-Functional Team: A cross-functional team covering Data, API, BPM, Testing, and domain expertise was set up to ensure seamless collaboration.
2. Data Ecosystem: A new data ecosystem was built on Hadoop, MongoDB, and Vault, decoupling data from applications and ensuring future proofing of the system. APIs, queues, and files were utilized for efficient data access.
3. Financial Crime Tools: NetReveal and SafeWatch were implemented for Customer Screening, Transaction Monitoring, Customer Risk Assessment, and Payment Screening. In-house interfaces were developed for analysts to raise Suspicious Activity Reports.
4. Case Management: Appian was deployed for efficient case management, streamlining the process for analysts.
5. Reporting and Dashboards: aMIS reporting and comprehensive dashboards using Tableau were implemented to provide real-time insights into financial crime activities.
Results
The Financial Crime Transformation Program resulted in significant positive outcomes for the bank:
1. Cost Reduction: Achieved a 20% reduction in costs through the program, and ongoing optimization efforts continue to drive further efficiencies.
2. Analyst Productivity: Analyst productivity in case management increased by 30%, enabling better and faster handling of suspicious activities.
3. Improved Release Velocity: Simplification of the architecture led to a 45% improvement in release velocity, facilitating quicker deployments and updates.