Boston, MA, May 12, 2006
– According to a new report from Aite Group, the current focus on money laundering is here to stay. Money laundering's potential to impact institutions and individuals on global economic and social
scales assures that regulators will continue to scrutinize the flow of funds into and out of financial institutions, looking for signs that criminals are using financial products for purposes other than those intended.
"There is universal agreement that the fight against money laundering will be a priority from here on out," says
Eva Weber, Aite Group analyst. "Institutions should be asking themselves the same questions that regulators are
asking: Am I consistently applying AML policies and procedures? Are those policies and procedures appropriate to the risks my business faces? Can I demonstrate compliance fairly readily?"
Weber notes that from the regulatory perspective, there is no "right" answer when it comes to preventing money laundering. "Regulators are unlikely to penalize institutions for isolated
oversights, as long as those institutions have given appropriate thought to their anti-money laundering programs."
The report examines current trends in AML technology, and it highlights 10 vendors whose solutions include key AML functionality such as list checking, transaction monitoring, and reporting.
It also notes how the first-year price tag for AML solutions can vary widely, depending on several drivers that are highly specific to each institution (see Figure 1, above).
Vendors profiled in the report include: ACI Worldwide, Actimize, Experian, FircoSoft, Mantas, Metavante, NetEconomy, SAS Institute, STB Systems, and SunGard.
|
