Cost cutting measures put in place by banks in the wake of last year's financial crisis are leaving them, and their customers, vulnerable to criminal attack, according to a survey from Norkom Technologies.
In a poll of 250 financial crime professionals working in banks across the globe, 71% of respondents say fraud attacks against their business have increased over the past year.
The severity of attacks is also increasing, with 67% saying their financial losses to fraud have grown over the same period. For almost a quarter that growth has been greater than one fifth.
At the same time 36% of respondents say they have had their anti-money laundering budgets cut for the next 12 months, with 12% losing a quarter of their money. In addition, 30% have seen their fraud budget shrink. Half of those polled agree that general cost-cutting across their organisations is weakening defences.
Norkom claims a "consolidated technology approach" can help solve the problem, with 79% of respondents using this saying it has improved the amount of fraud detected and prevented as a proportion of the total reported. Furthermore, 63% have seen operating costs decrease.
David Dixon, director, global solutions, Norkom, says: "It's ironic that the very actions banks are taking to shore up their damaged finances may sabotage their chances of recovery. However, we do see a path out of the dilemma. There is clear evidence that advanced crime fighting approaches, underpinned by consolidated technologies, can reduce fraud losses and, simultaneously, reduce operating costs in crime fighting departments."