Singapore Bank Deploys Agentic AI, Automating Wealth Verification

cross-referencesBank of Singapore has introduced an agentic AI system called the Source of Wealth Assistant (SOWA) to automate and accelerate Know-Your-Customer (KYC) due diligence — a critical process in verifying the legitimacy of clients’ wealth. Co-developed with OCBC, the bank’s parent company, SOWA represents a major leap in regulatory technology, cutting Source of Wealth (SoW) reporting time from 10 days to just one hour. 

Traditionally, SoW verification required manual review of hundreds of pages of financial documents. The new AI-driven platform automates this process by generating comprehensive, standardized reports. This cross-references client data with OCBC’s extensive internal databases and market indicators such as income benchmarks and business revenues. 

According to Kam Chin Wong, Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Bank of Singapore, integrating AI into compliance enables relationship managers to shift their focus from paperwork to higher-value client engagement and risk assessment. Agentic AI enables systems like SOWA to initiate tasks, assess data, and learn dynamically, improving efficiency and consistency over time. 

Key highlights include: 

• Up to 240x faster reporting — from 10 days to one hour. 

• Enhanced accuracy and consistency in SoW documentation, reducing human error. 

• Secure processing within the bank’s private cloud to ensure data confidentiality and compliance. 

• Proactive autonomy through agentic AI capabilities that adapt based on prior outputs. 

Relationship managers report significant productivity gains, enabling faster client onboarding while maintaining rigorous compliance standards. The launch of SOWA aligns with OCBC Group’s broader AI transformation strategy, embedding intelligent automation across its financial operations to strengthen regulatory precision and customer experience. 

 

Source:  

https://www.itnews.asia/news/bank-of-singapore-deploys-ai-to-automate-kyc-process-621076