UK FinCrime Operations Trends Report - How does your firm measure up?

Financial institutions in the UK are operating under growing pressure to balance regulatory compliance with efficiency and client experience. This is reflected in the significant share of operations budgets dedicated to client lifecycle management, reaching 34% for banks and up to 42% for asset servicers.

At the same time, firms are accelerating their adoption of advanced AI technologies, with over 80% leveraging tools like generative and agentic AI to automate labour-intensive AML and KYC processes particularly in the fight against financial crime.

This report explores how banks, asset managers and asset servicers in the UK are evolving their approaches to client lifecycle management in response to these pressures. Drawing on insights from 200 senior decision-makers, it examines how firms are investing in AI, addressing financial crime risk and managing the operational costs and inefficiencies associated with onboarding and periodic reviews.

We analyse the data to understand how industry dynamics are shifting, with a focus on:

• AI investment priorities and adoption levels.
• The role of automation in improving compliance efficiency.
• The operational and financial impact of onboarding delays and client abandonment.