New IBM Financial Crime Unit signs Fortent* Anti-Money Laundering deal with The Co-operative Bank
UK's leading ethical bank deploys Fortent's enterprise wide best practice AML solution
November 17, 2004 - New York and London
The Co-operative Bank, one of the only leading banks in the world that actively promotes and reinforces its ethical stance in the provision of financial services, has selected IBM's newly-formed European Financial Crime Unit to deploy an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution that incorporates Fortent Anti-Money Laundering Sentinel software, IBM WebSphere middleware and IBM eServer pSeries systems, as well as specialist consulting from IBM Business Consulting Services.
This is the first deal for IBM's new London-based Financial Crime Unit, which was recently established following the success of a similar IBM unit in New York. Both units include a team of experts from across IBM, including IBM Business Consulting Services, and aim to work closely with customers and with specialist business partners to support the growing number of initiatives and regulations that seek to tackle financial crime. Having worked together for many years, Fortent and IBM have a customer list that includes many of the world's leading banks.
"Being faithful to our ethical principles is of paramount importance in everything that we do at The Co-operative Bank. Not only did we need an AML solution from partners that had a proven track record, but we also needed to ensure that they shared our focus and ethos in addressing financial crime." said Steve Howlett, Head of Financial Crime Prevention Unit and MLRO, The Co-operative Bank. "The solution needed to facilitate continuing compliance with legislation and regulation, which form part of the ongoing campaign being waged by the regulators, our partners and ourselves to tackle the ever-present problem of financial crime."
The Fortent AML solution at The Co-operative Bank will systematically and intelligently monitor its customer accounts and daily transactions in order to automate the detection of suspicious behavior.
"The success of existing AML initiatives is driving criminals to either seek new markets or find new ways to avoid detection," said Paul Maddox, Partner, IBM Business Consulting Services and leader of IBM's European Financial Crime Unit. "We need to be as innovative and as determined as they are. That is why IBM has now established its second Financial Crime Unit - one on either side of the Atlantic - making it even harder for criminals to hide."
IBM Business Consulting Services is leading the strategy, planning and integration of the Fortent solution within The Co-operative Bank's technology infrastructure. IBM has extensive expertise in the rapid implementation and deployment of Fortent technology, gained from a number of implementations at other institutions.
"We are very pleased that The Co-operative Bank has decided to implement our solution which has been built on market best practice. Its desire for a fool-proof and proven AML solution that will both protect and reinforce its reputation in the market is a powerful confirmation of the effectiveness and efficiency of our technology" said a spokesperson from Fortent.
After less than three years of operation the IBM-Fortent Global Strategic Alliance already monitors over 300 million accounts, 200 million transactions and an estimated $600 billion a day in the fight against global money laundering and financial crime. Fortent software enables organizations to automatically interpret and act upon vast amounts of data assisting regulatory compliance, risk mitigation and brand protection. Every transaction is monitored for unusual activity, immediately notifying compliance staff about those that may require further investigation and providing them with an evidential audit to effectively manage the compliance process.
*Fortent was acquired by Actimize on August 31, 2009
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