New Solution Brings Anti-Money Laundering to Smaller Banks

Money launderers aren’t the only ones watching the banks. With the clock ticking at four years and counting since Sept. 11, 2001, global lawmakers are also turning a keen eye toward financial institutions of all sizes.

While larger banks might have felt the most pressure to quickly comply with global regulations to implement anti-money laundering systems, the time has come for all banks – including growing regional and community banks – to comply.

SAS Money Laundering Detection gives small and mid-sized banking and financial institutions an enterprise-class anti-money laundering solution that is tailored to their specific needs.

Achieving compliance, best practices affordably
"We live in a different world from the one before Sept. 11, 2001," says David Stewart, director of SAS’ anti-money laundering program. "Amendments to anti-money laundering regulations across the globe require financial services companies to step up their efforts to detect suspicious activity. Recently, in the U.S., the federal regulatory agencies published the Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual, which provides guidance on implementing risk-based programs, similar to the proposal of the European Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism."

"The new SAS solution helps smaller financial institutions comply with government money laundering regulations by supporting automated processes for detection, investigation and reporting," continues Stewart. "SAS Money Laundering Detection is unique because it gives smaller institutions a way of complying with best practices more affordably."

Consistent with the more robust SAS Anti-Money Launderingsolution, SAS Money Laundering Detection includes data management tools and best practices, an alert engine, basic reporting functionality, transaction monitoring, analytics and administration. All of these capabilities are available in a simplified technology architecture that institutions can easily integrate with other SAS solutions and migrate to a more sophisticated money laundering solution as needed.

"Regional and community banks are now looking to build an enterprisewide view of their growing organizations, and SAS Money Laundering Detection gives those banks the capability for high-end monitoring at a reasonable cost," says Mark Moorman, vice president of SAS financial services practice.

SAS Money Laundering Detection will help financial institutions:

• Establish consistent processes, procedures and controls for identifying suspicious behavior and filing necessary reports.
• Document the decision process for regulatory review.
• Conduct investigations using existing staff.
• Implement a money laundering detection system quickly, in spite of limited financial or human resources.

"By making our enterprise AML technology available to them in a fiscally responsible way, SAS can help them do more at a lower cost. It has all of the processing of SAS Anti-Money Laundering delivered in a simplified technology," concludes Moorman.