The solution enables firms to have a better understanding of what is being discussed and traded within its trading floors from a single interface. Additionally, this provides internal compliance divisions the ability to respond rapidly to suspicious rate-rigging issues, thereby increasing chances at lowering potential regulatory risk by speeding resolutions.

With more than a decade of experience in developing compliance solutions, NICE Actimize created its Benchmark Monitoring Solution in response to customer demand and recent incidents affecting the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) reference rates. The solution monitors the rate-setting process simultaneously with an internal communications monitoring process that utilizes NICE's speech analytics technology. The solution includes analytics modules designed to capture and analyze rate submission and also detects keywords and phrases that would imply an attempt to influence key interest rates across rate submissions by monitoring voice and messaging channels.

"The Libor scandal struck at the integral heart of financial services. Products which deliver clarity and insight to uncover possible manipulation will be welcomed by regulators and market participants alike. With the regulators' renewed focus on personal accountability, now is the time for firms, and those individuals responsible, to take the necessary action," according to Rebecca Healey, Senior Analyst, TABB Group.

Working with a leading financial institution in EMEA, NICE Actimize demonstrated the solution's potential effectiveness by taking an existing benchmark investigation process used at the institution and comparing its results against those obtained by using the Actimize Benchmark Monitoring Solution. The Actimize Benchmark Monitoring Solution identified the relevant voice recordings in minutes, highlighting the most relevant conversations first.

In this specific trial instance, the Actimize Benchmark Monitoring Solution was able to discover connected conversations in about 30 minutes and complete the necessary evaluation in three days, where before, using other technology and manual methods utilized at the bank, this same process had taken more than four months and 480 man hours to achieve.

"Financial institutions are under focused scrutiny by regulators due to recent rate setting scandals, which has created immediate need for an integrated oversight approach to ensure compliance," said Amir Orad, President and CEO, NICE Actimize. "Proactive monitoring of both rate-setting transactions and related communications, coupled with dedicated analytics to detect suspicious trader behaviors, is an important step towards enabling financial services firms to demonstrate integrity and to regain public confidence."

As a capital markets compliance market leader, NICE Actimize continues to innovate and keep pace with the highly dynamic global regulatory environment and the constantly changing requirements of its capital markets client base. Following the October 2012 acquisition of Redkite Financial Markets, NICE Actimize now provides three deployment options: on-premise, cloud, or a hybrid of the two.