Global: Financial Institutions Embrace Agentic AI to Strengthen Compliance Operations

A growing number of financial services firms are turning to agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their compliance operations, driven by the need for efficiency, cost savings, and stronger risk management.

According to a recent survey of 90 risk, compliance, and technology professionals from asset management firms and corporate, investment, and commercial banks across the US and UK, 93% of respondents plan to deploy agentic AI within the next two years. Notably, six per cent have already adopted the technology.

The adoption is largely focused on high-impact use cases. Fraud detection emerged as the leading driver, cited by over one-third of respondents, followed by Know Your Customer (KYC) maintenance at 19%, and transaction monitoring at 16%.

Respondents also expect significant financial benefits, with 26% projecting annual cost savings of over $4 million. These savings are anticipated from reductions in manual workloads, faster decision-making, and fewer compliance breaches.

However, data privacy (44%) and evolving regulatory frameworks (36%) remain key concerns, particularly among U.S.-based institutions considering large-scale implementation of agentic AI.

Commenting on the findings, Keith Redmond, Chief Product Officer at Fenergo, noted:

“Rising financial crime risks and outdated onboarding processes are forcing firms to rethink compliance from the ground up. As operational inefficiency continues to drive up costs, financial institutions are turning to agentic AI as an intelligible, efficient, and value-driven compliance assistant—and rightly so.

Those that embrace agentic AI now will no doubt be the ones defining the future of financial crime prevention, realising its profound implications for productivity, competitive differentiation, and client service well ahead of the curve.”

As the compliance landscape becomes more complex, agentic AI is fast emerging as a transformative solution, enabling financial institutions to stay ahead of regulatory requirements while optimising operational performance.