The EY has agreed to close its partnership with Santander and refund GBP 15 million after alleged failings within its anti-financial crime project for the bank’s UK arm. According to the Financial Times, EY agreed to terminate the consulting contract that was made with the financial institution, as well as to refund the money to Santander’s UK business.

The Big Four consultancy company was one of the multiple external advisers that were called on by Santander in order to address financial crime and anti-money laundering (AML) systems that drew the inspection process from regulators. The project’s termination has been followed by a prospect of cutbacks in the EY’s UK financial crime advisory team. Santander’s issues led to regulatory oversight and some financial penalties.

EY’s recent strategy of development At the beginning of September 2023, the EY organisation announced its partnership with Microsoft, aiming to deliver its new Assurance technology platform. The collaboration and the product launch represented a part of a USD 1 billion investment program. The strategic deal followed EY’s completion of its first 12 months of investment of USD 1 billion for its Assurance technology solution.

The funding was made on a four-year-long plan and it represented a part of a sustained focus that the firm had on maintaining an optimised audit quality. Moreover, it prioritised the promotion of efficiency in business and capital markets, as well as providing a scalable audit that aligned with the company’s development agendas. The overall expansion of EY’s partnership with Microsoft represented a part of this year’s release of more than 20 new Assurance technology capabilities and offerings.

It was included in a multi-year EY programme that focused on integrating improved technology into a single, secure platform. Furthermore, it also focused on driving transformation and development through the use of data access services and optimised analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and client experience. Earlier in August 2023, EY US collaborated with AI SaaS company SymphonyAI in order to improve the manner in which organisations digitally develop with the use of generative AI-enabled retail and financial services platforms.

The partnership offered firms and enterprises predictive and generative artificial intelligence software implementation at scale for optimising efficiency and overall business performance. The companies focused on financial crime prevention and regulatory compliance, which represented an increasing concern for large financial clients. As fraud and other online threads became more sophisticated in the process of conducting fraudulent transactions, evasion of sanctions, and money laundering, the deal focused on preventing these processes and offering improved security and privacy services to clients.

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