DBS leverages big data analytics to reduce trade anomalies

Singapore, 01 Sep 2016 - DBS Bank, which is shaping the future of banking, continues to blaze a path in the industry, including in the traditionally paper-based trade finance business.

The bank said today that working in partnership with A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R), Singapore’s largest ICT research institute, and Cloudera, the leading provider of a data management and analytics platform built on the Apache Hadoop ecosystem, it has established a groundbreaking programme that will enable it to leverage big data technology to detect abnormal transaction activities in the trade finance space. Such a programme is a first for a Singapore bank.

Choong Yang Ping, Managing Director, Technology and Operations, DBS Bank said, “With global trade set to grow, and increased regulatory demands on anti money-laundering and fraud prevention, we believe in taking a proactive approach in enhancing our current risk management processes. This trade alerts programme has helped the bank create a more robust platform to detect trade anomalies. The bank is now able to use the big data to manage the overall transactional trends more effectively. ”

Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director, A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) said, “Our long-standing partnership with DBS highlights the importance of leveraging big data technology to build more robust data ecosystems for the financial industry and potentially help prevent financial crimes.”

While trade finance is a burgeoning business, it remains a paper-intensive industry involving manual processes. Traditionally, trade finance controls have also centred on the bank’s understanding of its clients, the nature of the transaction, documentary financing and credit monitoring. With this new trade alerts initiative, DBS is able to detect fraud anomalies through transactional trends instead of relying on checks on singular transactions.

The trade alerts programme was launched in April 2016 and these alerts are currently detected at the transaction level; over time, DBS intends to extend this to a customer portfolio view in real time. The trade alerts capability covers 13 locations across DBS Group. It was made possible with the partnership with Cloudera, using big data infrastructure first deployed 12 months ago.

“We are pleased to partner with DBS, a very forward thinking financial institution in Asia,” said Mike Olson, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Cloudera. “The finance industry is going digital and financial services companies like DBS are harnessing data to make informed decisions, identify trends and to stay ahead of competition. At the same time, financial services businesses face tremendous regulatory pressure from authorities to recognise and prevent fraud, to comply with international law and to reduce risks. Cloudera offers a fully secured and governed enterprise data platform that delivers more flexibility, more cost control and more value for these workloads than legacy systems. It is ideal for the needs and requirements of the financial service business. This is why the world’s leading financial service companies choose to work with Cloudera.”

Ng Peng Khim, Head of Institutional Banking Group Technology, Digital Innovation & Data Management, DBS Bank said, “DBS has invested in technology and people over the past five years and will continue to do so going forward. The use of big data technologies using open source programming and integrated analytics enables us to glean stronger insights for decision-making purposes.”

 

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About DBS
DBS - Living, Breathing Asia
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's capital position, as well as "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings, is among the highest in Asia-Pacific.

DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been conferred “Asia’s Best Bank” by The Banker and Euromoney, and “Asian Bank of the Year” by IFR Asia. The bank has also been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for seven consecutive years from 2009 to 2015.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 22,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.