To meet the requirements and expectations of their regulators, legislators, shareholders and stakeholders, banks have invested in a host of leading edge data management, data mining, data analytics, and reporting solutions and tools.

Despite these investments, banks continue to face other perennial challenges. Key among these challenges is the identification and elimination of criminals who are using bank platforms to launder money garnered through a variety of unlawful activities including illegal drug sales, prostitution and human trafficking. Aside from the innate criminality and immorality of these activities, the money generated through them is often used to fund terrorism and other crimes.

In addition to new regulations and oversight imposed on banks following the financial crisis, they remain subject to other dictates that require them to identify and report suspicious activity that may indicate money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial criminal activities. The most relevant statutes and rules governing banks’ responsibilities in these areas are the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the USA PATRIOT Act and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.