The banking industry is entering a new chapter in financial crime compliance (FCC), powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
New research from Hawk and Chartis Research reveals that 82% of financial institutions plan to boost their AI investment by more than 25% within the next two to three years. Machine learning (86%), generative AI (83%), and agentic AI (76%) are at the forefront of this transformation, as banks look to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and cost control in their compliance operations.
The findings come from Hawk’s new report, ‘AI in Financial Crime & Compliance: Charting the Path from Pilot to Maturity’, which explores how banks are moving from pilot projects to large-scale AI adoption.
The report highlights a growing belief in AI’s transformative power. Around one-third of banks (33%) think agentic AI will fundamentally reshape FCC functions, while nearly half (45%) expect it to strengthen existing processes.
Agentic AI is seen as most valuable in case investigations and suspicious activity report (SAR) drafting, while generative AI is delivering major gains in data handling, investigation speed, and analyst decision-making.
Hawk CEO Tobias Schweiger said, “This research confirms that the banking sector is at a pivotal moment with AI. The realized value is proving to be significant, and now the challenge is scaling that value with a holistic application of different AI technologies. Balancing the strengths of machine learning, GenAI, and Agentic AI for different uses — from high-volume data processing to complex investigations — is key to sustaining momentum and keeping AI costs under control.”
AI adoption is already paying off, delivering measurable improvements in accuracy and efficiency. The study found that more than half of respondents rank improved detection accuracy as the top benefit of AI, followed by faster alert triage and investigation processing.
Cost reduction, too, is proving a significant outcome—71% of banks have already achieved savings in anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, and 94% expect further savings within a year. Over half project savings exceeding $5m in the next two to three years.
Regulatory attitudes are also shifting in favour of AI. Sixty per cent of banks expect regulators to become more supportive of AI-driven compliance solutions, with the highest optimism reported in the US (66%) and Latin America (80%).
Chartis Research research director Sean O’Malley said, “Banks aren’t asking if AI works anymore. Instead, they’re focusing on how to scale it. With regulators becoming more open and the benefits increasingly tangible, we predict that 2026 will mark a decisive acceleration in AI maturity across financial crime and compliance.”
Momentum is clearly accelerating as banks move from experimentation to execution. Eighty-nine per cent of surveyed institutions now encourage AI adoption internally, and while 22% have implemented it operationally in FCC, another 70% are advancing through piloting and testing. Fraud prevention stands as the most mature use case, though only 10% have achieved full-scale deployment. Regulatory reporting remains the least advanced, with just 2% using AI at scale.
To uncover more insights about how AI is transforming compliance, read the full report here.
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