AI-powered compliance transforms banking operations ensuring safer transactions
A prominent Asian Pacific bank has transformed its regulatory compliance operations, achieving $1 million in annual savings and 40% faster transaction processing for customers. Facing the dual pressure of intensifying anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations and customers’ demand for a frictionless experience, the bank found its manual process of reviewing thousands of transaction alerts daily unsustainable, hampering efficiency and creating compliance risks.
Working with HCLTech, the bank implemented an intelligent Pega-based Compliance and Risk Management solution that streamlined alert processing, automated workflows and created a comprehensive 360-degree customer view.
The Challenge
Financial institutions must balance rigorous regulatory requirements with operational efficiency. The bank's existing compliance processes presented significant barriers:
- Alert overload: Teams manually reviewed over thousands of daily transaction alerts from AML and CTF systems, creating processing backlogs and compliance risks
- False positive burden: Analysts wasted valuable time investigating legitimate transactions flagged unnecessarily by detection systems
- System reliability issues: Frequent downtimes further complicated timely alert investigation and resolution
- Workflow inefficiencies: Inadequate assignment and routing created bottlenecks in alert processing
- Limited traceability: Incomplete customer transaction history made thorough investigations difficult and time-consuming
The bank needed a comprehensive solution that could enhance regulatory compliance while improving operational efficiency and reducing costs associated with compliance management.
The Solution
We collaborated with the bank to design and implement a transformative compliance management system built on the Pega platform. Our approach delivered:
- Domain-led Compliance and Risk Management solution: Developed a customized Compliance and Risk Management (CARM) solution to align with banking regulations and operational needs
- AI-powered automation: We incorporated AI-driven business rules that enhanced the detection of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) activities. Minimizing false positives, enabled analysts to focus on high-priority cases rather than investigating irrelevant alerts.
- Global Case Management integration: Streamlined workflow enabled consistent processing and documentation of investigations
- End-to-end digitalization: We automated critical processes such as Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and transaction review, completely eliminating manual handoffs
- Automated Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) dashboards: We introduced SAR dashboards that simplified the filing and tracking of suspicious activities, ensuring timely and accurate regulatory reporting
- 360-degree customer view: Unified dashboard provided complete visibility into customer relationships, transaction history and risk profiles
The solution moved the bank from a reactive to a proactive, intelligent compliance function that enhanced both regulatory adherence and operational efficiency.
The Impact
The implementation of the Pega-based compliance management system delivered significant quantifiable benefits:
- $1 million annual cost optimization: Streamlined processes and reduced manual effort translated into substantial operational savings
- 40% reduction in resolution time: Automated workflows dramatically accelerated alert processing and customer response times
- 25% improvement in staff efficiency: With streamlined processes, compliance teams shifted from manual tasks to higher-value compliance activities
- Enhanced risk detection: Comprehensive customer view improved identification of suspicious activities and high-risk customers
- Multi-channel integration: Seamless connection across countries and channels enabled consistent compliance management
- Automated workflow routing: Intelligent case assignment eliminated bottlenecks and ensured optimal resource utilization
Beyond the Numbers
This resolution changed how the bank approaches compliance management. The solution shifted compliance operations from a cost center to a strategic function that enhances regulatory adherence and customer experience. The 360-degree customer view improved risk detection and enabled more informed customer interactions. Compliance teams now operate as strategic partners to the business, focusing on complex risk assessment rather than routine processing.
Celebrating Success
HCLTech remains committed to helping financial institutions transform compliance operations through intelligent technology solutions. Our partnership with this Asia Pacific region bank demonstrates how advanced compliance management can simultaneously strengthen regulatory adherence, reduce costs and improve service capabilities.
As financial regulations continue to evolve, our Pega-based compliance solution provides the foundation for adaptive, efficient operations—enabling the bank to respond with agility to new requirements while maintaining operational excellence and customer trust.
