Over One Fifth of International Financial Service Providers are or Plan to
      Develop a Co-ordinated Approach to Financial Crime & Compliance
     14% are Already Actively Engaged in Departmental and Technological
                                Integration

    BOSTON, Massachusetts, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Research carried out by
Datamonitor on behalf of Norkom Technologies reveals a significant shift in
the way financial services providers will manage their regulatory
compliance obligations and their efforts to stem financial crime. It
reveals that 21% either are or plan to integrate the departments that
address financial crime and compliance, along with the technology
infrastructures that support their activities.
    "Traditionally financial service providers have viewed these two
financial crime and compliance as separate disciplines, says Paul Kerley,
CEO of Norkom Technologies. "But within an increasingly tight-margined
industry there is a strong desire to pursue a single investment stream to
both reduce criminal losses and drive down the cost of compliance. This is
now achievable since single technology platforms are now emerging that can
detect crime, investigate it and compile the management information
required to fulfil the regulator's requirements."
    Cost is clearly a fundamental concern; the need for greater efficiency
is named as the first or second priority for all crime and compliance
investment decisions by 100% of respondents. Norkom believes this financial
motivation will make moves towards integration irresistible as companies
recognise the financial benefits it can offer. "It can clearly be
demonstrated that many of the processes and technologies employed to
satisfy the regulator's demands can deliver additional ROI by being
deployed to fight crime," says Paul.
    The research also reveals that traditional corporate structures hamper
progress. Organisational inflexibility; the departmental silos that
discourage cross functional communication, shared processes and pooled
approaches, were named as the number one barrier to consolidation by 67% of
respondents. "Those who are forging ahead, however, are motivated to do so
by the experience of early adopters, which demonstrates that automation of
both processes - and the improved detection performance it brings - can
reduce the incidence of financial crime by up to 70% while lowering the
cost of investigations required by the regulator, by up to 98%," says Paul.
    The research also reveals that ID theft and money laundering are the
financial crimes which give financial institutions the most widespread
cause for concern, named as top three issues by 87% and 86% of respondents
respectively. However, while not receiving the same number of responses in
absolute terms, card fraud emerges as the top priority, listed by 67 of
respondents as their number one concern.
    "It can come as no surprise that financial service providers are
pre-occupied with financial crime and compliance," concludes Paul. Analysts
estimate that financial crime costs the global financial services industry
GBP11 billion ($19 billion) per annum and that the cost of meeting
compliance requirements will increase by 43% over the next three years.
    To obtain your copy of the research report: 'Securing the Future
Against Financial Crime: Priorities, focus and early adopter trends' email:
marketing@norkom.com
    NOTES:
    Research methodology
    Datamonitor carried out a series of telephone interviews with senior
executives from a representative sample of leading international financial
services organisations. Average turnover of the companies interviewed was
GBP9.2 billion ($16 billion).
    Norkom Technologies is a leading provider of financial crime and
compliance software to the global financial services industry. Clients
include: Bank of Montreal Group, Harris Bank, HSBC, Rabobank, Standard
Chartered Bank
    http://www.norkom.com

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