HSBC Pairs With AI FinTech On Compliance

Amid the embrace of artificial intelligence across financial services, one big bank is adopting AI to streamline compliance efforts.

Reuters reported that HSBC Holdings has linked up with AI startup Ayasdi, which makes its home base in Silicon Valley. The partnership will be focused on helping automate a number of business processes with an eye on efficiency.  The newswire stated that the company seeks to automate anti-money-laundering investigations, taking those tasks from human eyes and hands. The plan was disclosed by Chief Operating Officer Andy Maguire, said Reuters.

Amid that human endeavor, maintained Ayasdi, since fraud is usually not found, and even suspicious activity is not unearthed, effort is wasted. The tech firm said that in a pilot, investigations slipped by 20 percent — yet the number of cases flagged for further examination stayed the same, with the implication that processes were in fact more efficient.

The announcement comes in the wake of the January appointment of Ayasdi Executive Chairman and cofounder Gurjeet Singh to a technology advisory board set up by HSBC. That board is tasked with offering insight and guidance when it comes to HSBC’s digital strategy.

Banks have been eyeing the bottom line while also boosting compliance efforts. The HSBC and Ayasdi pairing shows one strategy within “regtech,” focused on the regulatory environment, where banks seek to adopt technologies rather than build them in-house.

Maguire told Reuters that AI technology serves to “do things human beings are not typically good at, like high-frequency high-volume data problems,” thus making sure that compliance efforts are successful.