KBC Group launches its own AI fintech, DISCAI, a separate legal
entity.
Joint Press release
Outside trading hours – Regulated information*
Brussels, 7 March 2022 8.00 a.m. CET
KBC Group
launches its own AI
fintech,
DISCAI,
a separate legal entity.
Through DISCAI, KBC Group commercialises its
portfolio of Artificial Intelligence applications, starting
with the launch of an AI application designed for the combat
against money laundering.
Through its own fintech DISCAI, a fully
owned subsidiary, KBC Group is commercialising the innovative
Artificial Intelligence applications it develops in-house to third
parties, specifically B2B parties. The first application available
focuses on the combat against money laundering.
DISCAI will pursue a gradual
go-to-market approach and will work with partners for the
distribution and integration of these applications.
DISCAI will initially offer an
innovative and high-performance AI-based solution that closely
monitors money laundering ('Know Your Transaction' under anti-money
laundering regulations). In a next phase, it will assist companies
and organisations from various sectors in their search for
high-performance and innovative solutions to the technological and
regulatory challenges in their particular area of business. DISCAI
is also partnering with KPMG who will attract interested B2B
parties and support the implementation of the technology in various
countries.
KBC had already indicated at the start of 2021
that it was considering making its own technology – including
anti-money laundering controls – accessible to other companies and
organisations. This type of ‘bank-insurance as a service’ is fully
in line with KBC's strategy to go beyond its traditional
bank-insurance offering.
With this in mind, KBC Group is now grouping
together the AI solutions it developed in-house into a separate
company, DISCAI, which will gradually release these applications
onto the market. DISCAI will also train the data models, using
databases provided by customers, while adhering to strict data
privacy standards.
KBC's AI team currently has over 100 staff and,
in recent years, has worked with experts from KBC's business and IT
departments to develop technologies and applications that can be
used more widely than in the financial sector alone.
DISCAI will initially offer an innovative and
high-performance AI-based solution that closely monitors money
laundering ('Know Your Transaction' under anti-money laundering
regulations). This solution has been tested extensively in recent
years by KBC in Belgium, before being validated in collaboration
with a renowned external organisation.
DISCAI is collaborating with KPMG Belgium to
attract interested B2B parties and support the implementation of
the technology within the global network of KPMG firms. The initial
focus will be on parties that are geographically close to KBC Group
and on integrating the solution at these parties.
Johan Thijs, KBC Group CEO, is
delighted with the establishment of DISCAI: 'In recent years, we
have built up considerable expertise in the field of artificial
intelligence at KBC. More than a hundred experts are working every
day to unlock the enormous potential of this technology. I'm
convinced that the know-how we are channelling into DISCAI will
enable us to assist many companies and organisations from various
sectors in their search for high-performance and innovative
solutions to the technological and regulatory challenges in their
particular field.'
Enthusing about the partnership, Harry
Van Donink, KPMG Belgium CEO, stated: “As a proud
implementation partner of KBC, we will jointly leverage our
expertise in technology, banking, and our international network.
Like KBC, KPMG embraces innovations in technology to improve
business performance and efficiency. This alliance is also a
strategic step that solidifies trust in our services and our market
leadership in fintech and technology.”
David Hicks, Global Financial Crime
Transformation Lead, KPMG International adds, “This is a
really exciting initiative in the fight against financial crime.
Merging KPMG’s market leading expertise with innovative technology
solutions and integrating it into our 145-country strong network,
will advance the global reach to bring KBC and DISCAI’s technology
to our clients across the world. I am proud and excited to see this
alliance come alive.”
DISCAI was launched today, with Fabrice
Deprez as its CEO and a dedicated team of
experts in AI, data science, data engineering and banking. Fabrice
is a 48-year-old, trilingual Belgian commercial engineer who, until
his appointment at DISCAI, was the Managing Director of LACO, a
Belgian-based IT consultancy firm specialising in data
intelligence. He previously held consulting and management
positions at Accenture, Deloitte, IBS and CSC.
Fabrice Deprez summarized
DISCAI’s solution : "Anti-money laundering is a global challenge
for financial institutions. Financial institutions have a
regulatory obligation to report suspicious behaviour linked with
Money Laundering and substantial fines are linked with
non-compliance. The current approach based on legacy rule based
solutions requires a lot of manual control, and misses an important
number of money laundering cases. DISCAI is now offering an
innovative and high-performing AI-based solution that closely
tracks money laundering. It has been tested extensively in Belgium
and within the KBC Group entities and proves to be much more
effective in detecting fraud cases and in catching more potential
money launderers, which will support a fair society”.
The Board of Directors of
DISCAI will comprise Johan Thijs (KBC Group CEO), Erik
Luts (Chief Innovation Officer, KBC Group), Willem Hueting (Senior
General Manager, Shared Service & Operations, KBC Group) and
Barak Chizi (Senior General Manager/Chief Data & Analytics
Officer, KBC Group).
For more information, please
contact:
KBC Group :
Viviane Huybrecht, General Manager, Corporate
Communication/Spokesperson, KBC Group
Tel +32 2 429 85 45 - E-mail:
viviane.huybrecht@kbc.be, pressofficekbc@kbc.be
Website : www.kbc.com - www.discai.com
Kurt De Baenst, General Manager, Investor
Relations, KBC Group
Tel +32 2 429 35 73 - E-mail: IR4U@kbc.be
KPMG Belgium :
Filip Weynants, Partner, Risk and Regulatory, KPMG
Belgium
Tel +32(0)477407565 E-mail: fweynants@kpmg.com
Website : KPMG in Belgium - KPMG België
(home.kpmg)
* This news item contains information that is subject to the
transparency regulations for listed companies. |
KBC Group NV Havenlaan 2 – 1080
Brussels Viviane Huybrecht
General Manager Corporate
Communication /Spokesperson Tel. +32 2 429
85 45 |
Press Office Tel. +32 2 429 65 01 Stef
Leunens Tel. +32 2 429 29 15 Ilse De
Muyer Tel. +32 2 429 32 88 Pieter
Kussé Tel. +32 2 429 85 44 Sofie
Spiessens E-mail:
pressofficekbc@kbc.be |
KBC press releases are available at
www.kbc.com or can be obtained by sending
an e-mail to pressofficekbc@kbc.be
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