We supported a leading financial services firm to tackle a large volume of AML and KYC screening cases, improving its ability to swiftly identify potential financial crime risks.
Transformational impacts
- Reduced false positives by 98%, improving screening efficiency and risk accuracy.
- Accelerated case resolution times, ensuring compliance deadlines were met.
- Implemented a collaborative approach, enhancing communication between AML and client relationship teams.
Addressing the causes of a screening backlog
Our client faced a growing backlog of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) screening alerts. In particular, an overwhelming number of false positives were causing delays due to each alert needing to be manually reviewed against minimal data points.
Screening was also held back by information gaps. Documentation provided by client relationship managers often didn’t arrive on time, making it challenging to complete periodic reviews promptly.
This was slowing case resolution and, in an already over-stretched team, diverting critical resources away from other activities, threatening their ability to meet compliance deadlines.
Our goal was to balance efficiency with compliance accuracy, so that alerts could be quickly discounted without missing potential risks.
Rapidly putting solutions into action
Within weeks we had embedded an expert team onsite with our client. Our model ensured the team had the right mix of senior risk management experience and consultants fully trained in AML and KYC compliance.
They quickly identified the challenges noted above and designed a tailored solution. This included proactive engagement with client management teams to retrieve key identification data. The new data was added to the firm’s screening platform and cases rescreened based on more precise information.
This was supported by greater real-time collaboration between AML and client relationship teams. We established regular calls and structured discussions to replace fragmented email exchanges, streamlining document retrieval and enabling a transparent audit trail. We also provided governance and oversight reporting progress, highlights, and roadblocks frequently contributing to the board reports ensuring client senior management always had the latest updates.
Strengthening risk management capabilities
By enhancing the firm’s approach to screening we transformed its ability to meet critical AML and KYC obligations.
This included the essential short-term objective of clearing the screening backlog by reducing false positives by 98%. Longer-term benefits were also unlocked that will enable the organization to manage financial crime risks more effectively in future, such as:
- Enhanced risk detection capabilities, ensuring true positives can be accurately identified.
- Optimised resource allocation, freeing analysts to focus on high-risk cases rather than manual false-positive reviews.
- Streamlined and strengthened interdepartmental relationships, reinforcing the firm's ability to deliver AML and KYC compliance on time.
The organisation has now raised the bar for risk management ensuring it is able to identify and act on financial crime faster and more effectively.
Want to achieve similar results?
Get in touch with Emer today to explore how we can help you tackle your compliance challenges, streamline operations, and enhance your financial crime risk management.
