AML 6.3 enables financial institutions to significantly advance the automation of their regulatory reporting process -- including Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings. It also allows greater collaboration among the many parts of an organization involved in the financial crime-fighting and investigation process. AML 6.3 is endorsed by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the industry's leading trade association.

"Fortent developed AML 6.3 specifically to help our customers on both the regulatory and cost fronts," says Sandy Jaffee, CEO of Fortent. "Our goal is to help financial institutions take the costs out of compliance so that they can see a higher return on their systems investments."

With the increased number of SAR filings in the wake of the subprime crisis, and the threat of heavy regulatory penalties, financial institutions are struggling with how to manage their reporting requirements as well as credit and market losses. Organizations are carefully weighing their investments in risk and compliance technology, demanding higher operational efficiencies to satisfy cost controls and higher effectiveness levels to fulfill regulatory requirements.

"Designed with input from our extensive global customer base, AML 6.3 significantly advances major aspects of AML compliance, including complete automation of the regulatory reporting and information-capture processes in SAR submissions," says Ms. Jaffee. "These enhancements dramatically reduce the time and resources required -- and allow organizations to achieve a higher ROI."

John Wolff, president of the ABA's Corporation for American Banking, remarks: "Fortent's new release represents a major advancement in AML technology for our members, but, just as important, it reflects Fortent's understanding of the real cost pressures facing our industry. By addressing the full scope of AML compliance concerns, Fortent presents a world-class solution that helps meet banks' business and regulatory needs."

Fortent's AML 6.3 reflects the global nature of Fortent's client base, supporting the preparation and electronic submission of SAR disclosures to three major Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) -- FinCEN in the U.S., SOCA in the UK, and JAFIC in Japan -- and to other FIUs as required. The latest release is already being deployed at Mizuho Financial Group, one of the world's largest banks, throughout the bank's domestic Japanese operations.