Banks face increasing vulnerabilities, including fraud, cyberattacks, regulatory pressures and rapidly evolving customer behaviors.
To remain secure and resilient, financial institutions must do more than simply adopt new technologies – they must build intelligent, adaptive systems.
This is where a data and AI platform becomes a critical engine – not only for security, compliance and risk management, but also for driving growth, enhancing customer acquisition and enabling personalized experiences.
Advances in technology, such as AI, have driven innovation across industries. However, many of these advancements also introduce additional risks for financial institutions. According to a recent report by SAS and Economist Impact, nearly 80% of banking executives expect cyberattacks, fraud and financial crime to significantly impact their institutions.
Combating fraud with AI-powered solutions
Financial fraud is increasing at an alarming rate. Newly released data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that consumers lost more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024 – a 25% increase from the previous year. AI is enabling fraudsters to automate phishing and exploit stolen credentials, making it more difficult for banks to detect and prevent fraud. Traditional methods of risk detection and management are no longer sufficient. Financial institutions must adopt smarter, faster and more scalable solutions.
With fraud on the rise, financial institutions must take proactive measures to protect their customers. By incorporating AI-driven automation for real-time fraud detection, they can respond to threats faster than with traditional single-point solutions. Leveraging AI models trained on large volumes of transactional data allows banks to identify unusual patterns and flag potential fraud within milliseconds. Additionally, machine learning systems continuously improve, adapting to new fraud tactics. This is where a data and AI platform like SAS® Viya® can link billions of data records, accurately identifying threats in real time while minimizing disruptions to legitimate activities.
Strengthening security and regulatory compliance
Manual anti-money laundering (AML) processes often result in missed red flags or excessive false positives. AI automates the monitoring of large volumes of transactions and customer behaviors, enabling the detection of suspicious activities such as money laundering. According to recent research by SAS and Economist Impact, money laundering is estimated to account for between 2% and 5% of global GDP, equivalent to approximately US$2 trillion to US$5.5 trillion in 2024.
Banks handle sensitive data, making them prime targets for cybercriminals. AI-powered security systems can monitor network traffic and user behavior in real time, detecting breaches or other anomalies. For example, behavioral analytics can identify if a customer is accessing systems outside of normal hours or from unusual locations, flagging potential credential threats.
Cybercrime is also escalating rapidly, with criminals using generative AI to conduct deepfake fraud. In a recent speech titled “Deepfakes and the AI Arms Race in Bank Cybersecurity,” Michael S. Barr, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, emphasized that “A key step is to recognize the importance of strong, resilient financial institutions in preventing attacks.”
According to Barr, banks serve as frontline defenders against deepfake-enabled fraud due to their direct involvement with financial transactions and customer data. To verify payors, banks rely on identity verification processes, including multi-factor authentication and account monitoring.
The future of intelligent banking
Financial institutions must adopt a proactive approach to risk management and become more nimble and agile in handling credit, market and operational risks. Using a data and AI platform like SAS® Viya® enables integrated risk modeling across departments, while AI provides predictive capabilities. Regulators demand traceability, transparency and timely reporting, making a centralized data platform essential for consistent data governance, lineage and auditability.
AI can also read and classify regulatory documents, helping banks comply with evolving laws. Discover how one SAS customer, Shawbrook Bank, used SAS Viya to enhance risk mitigation, improve data governance and better meet customer needs.
Financial institutions must adopt a data and AI platform to effectively address risk and protect their assets. The bank of the future must go beyond patchwork firewalls and manual audits – it requires intelligent, connected systems that learn, adapt and defend. A robust platform like SAS Viya not only enhances security and compliance but also enables proactive defense strategies, empowering banks to respond faster. In a digital world, your data isn’t just an asset – it’s also your strongest line of defense.
