The control environment – AML software trends

Suspicious activity monitoring systems do not come cheap but, after a lean period, the return of comparative financial s tability is seeing a pick-up in investment in the latest technologies. MJ Deschamps reports.

Demand for AML software has ebbed and flowed markedly in the last ten years, according to David Stewart, business director in the fraud and financial crimes practice of SAS, the US-based software company. The September 11th attacks of 2001 produced a tremendous spike in demand. Technology development at the time focused on transaction monitoring but the pressure to assess exposure in correspondent banking relationships and the inception of the risk-based approach have posed new challenges.