COSTA MESA, Calif., and TORONTO — Experian recently announced enhancements to its anti-money laundering detection platform to provide additional capabilities and flexibility for financial institutions as they monitor, investigate and report suspicious monetary activity. The company has added advanced risk scoring and case management functions to its ASSIST suite of solutions to improve the effectiveness of financial institutions as they work to meet regulatory requirements.

Additionally, the company announced it has acquired Quebec-based Northern Credit Bureaus to expand its services in Canada. Previously, the company had a presence in Canada with Experian-Scorex operations based in Toronto.

Discussing the latest additions to the company's ASSIST suite of solutions, Marc Kirshbaum, president of Experian Fraud Solutions, said, "The latest modifications to the ASSIST suite are designed to improve the efficiency and management of suspicious monetary activity investigations for financial institutions.

"Experian's anti-money laundering platform goes beyond account and transaction monitoring by providing risk-management tools that help ferret out suspicious activity, meet regulatory requirements and improve bottom-line operations," he continued.

According to executives, ASSIST//score now incorporates advanced statistical scoring models that automate the analysis of dynamic risk scores for each account based on account characteristics, customer profiles and transaction behaviors.

This new capability was designed to allow institutions to update and modify their risk assessment calculations based on empirical data, executives explained.

The new features also offer detailed information on the derivation and reasons for each score and account level. Executives said ASSIST//score works seamlessly with ASSIST//ck to make the entire risk assessment and transaction monitoring process efficient and easy to use, along with providing detailed audit trails.

As for ASSIST//ck, it allows institutions to analyze how money moves in, around and out of the bank, and now provides upgraded case management functionality and investigation tools to improve investigative documentation and controls, along with enhancing the bank's capabilities to perform link analysis, Experian said.

The case management function maintains a complete log of exceptions, activities and documentation related to an investigation to assist in maximizing regulatory controls and compliance productivity, company executives pointed out.

"The enhancements put more information and controls into the hands of AML managers and investigators," said Frank Caruana, director of product management for Experian's anti-money laundering solutions. "The more precise and complete the information institutions have, the more effective they can be in detecting, reporting and stopping money laundering activity."

Expansion of Canadian Operations

In other recent news, Experian said it has acquired a credit bureau in Quebec to expand its services into Canada.

"Experian is very committed to expanding and investing in its operations in Canada," said Tony Canapini, country manager for Experian Canada. "This acquisition strengthens the foundation for Experian's business development initiatives in this key market."

Hiq Lee, executive vice president and general manager of Credit Information Solutions for Experian Canada, added, "Consumer borrowing levels in Canada have increased substantially in recent years. With total consumer debt now exceeding total personal disposable income, financial institutions, credit grantors and retailers need better alternatives for data and tools to manage their business.

"Many of Experian's U.S.-based clients already have a strong presence in this market and have asked Experian to extend its credit information solutions into Canada," he concluded.