Facctum delivered a compelling presentation titled "Enhancing Screening Efficiency via Improved Watchlist Management" at the 12th Annual Fintelekt AML/CFT Summit (India) in 2023, held on May 11th. 

During the summit, our Chief Product Officer, Sanjay Dattatri, shared insights on how a good watchlist management tool can not only improve the efficiency of the screening engine downstream but also help reduce dependencies on incumbent vendors.

Here are the top 5 main features that he talked about, which any client should look for while evaluating a watchlist management tool:

1. Out-of-the-box external data management

A good watchlist management tool should be able to handle and work with data from all major aggregated watchlist providers, including Dow Jones, London Stock Exchange Group, Lexis-Nexis, and Moody's.

2. Internal data management

Private blocklists(Bad guys list) and passlists (Good guys list) deteriorate in quality over a period of time. A good governance system for private data is an important feature and can help maintain the quality of the list entries and ensure that all data is up-to-date. 

3. Tailored watchlists

An ideal watchlist is one that has the least number of records required to meet all regulatory requirements and the institution's own risk-based policy. The ability to slice and dice incoming watchlist data and choose only those records that are absolutely essential is a must-have feature in any good watchlist management tool. 

4. Speed to compliance.

The time taken for a new sanction entity published by an official source to find its way into a screening engine's watchlist can be as long as 24- 48 hours. This is a window of opportunity for the newly sanctioned entity to move money to "safer" havens. A good watchlist management should have the power to keep a close watch on official lists and ensure that new sanctions find their way into the screening engine as quickly as possible. 

5. Time travel.

Good version control and archival of generated watchlists are critical features for any institution that is a regulated entity. A good watchlist management tool should be able to recreate or provide the watchlist for any given date, whenever required.  

Conclusion

The presentation emphasised the importance of improved watchlist management for enhancing screening efficiency. The key features highlighted include comprehensive external data management, strong governance for private data, tailored watchlists, speed to compliance, and robust version control. These features are essential for organisations to mitigate risks, maintain compliance, and optimise their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts. Here are some images from the event.