FICO ACQUIRES TONBELLER

Combines strengths in fraud management and financial crime prevention & compliance to address expanding global market for integrated, enterprise-class, risk-based solutions

FICO (NYSE:FICO), the predictive analytics and decision management software company announced it has acquired TONBELLER, an innovative provider of financial crime and compliance solutions based in Bensheim, Germany. The transaction has closed. Although terms have not been disclosed, the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on FICO’s 2015 financial results.

With this acquisition, FICO has moved firmly into the rapidly growing market for financial crime and compliance (FCC) solutions, promising to bring the benefits of advanced analytics and a risk-based approach to a field dominated by older, relatively inflexible, rule-based systems.

“Compliance with regulations concerning anti-money laundering, know-your-customer (KYC) and risk management imperatives has become a top priority for financial institutions as they struggle to anticipate and respond to known and emerging risks,” said Will Lansing, CEO, FICO. “The time has come to leverage advanced analytic technologies to manage risk while controlling operating costs. With this acquisition, we aim to help chief risk and compliance officers move quickly and decisively toward their goal of a common, unified view of the entire risk spectrum.”

Growing demand for financial crime and compliance solutions is being fueled by unprecedented challenges facing chief risk and compliance officers. These range from security and data risks to financial risks like credit and interest rates to corporate-level risks, including supplier/vendor relationships and reputation risk. Particularly troublesome can be the risks associated with financial crime and compliance, including various types of fraud and money laundering.

Will Lansing

“Financial institutions today are being exposed to a wider range of risks than ever before, as they implement new technologies and open up new customer channels in a bid to remain competitive,” said PeymanMestchian, managing partner for Chartis. “At the same time, they are facing increased regulatory scrutiny. All of this is forcing the integration of traditionally siloed financial crime, risk and compliance functions. By merging a category leader in enterprise fraud and model management with a provider of enterprise-class risk-based compliance solutions, FICO and TONBELLER aim to meet this demand head-on.”

“Most of today’s systems are inflexible and rule-based, requiring large expenditures on consulting and professional services to operate and update,” said Dr. Sebastian Hetzler, member of the board, TONBELLER. “By combining FICO predictive analytics, such as those used in its industry-leading FICO Falcon Platform, with TONBELLER’s innovative and popular risk-based FCC products, FICO will enter the market with a complete, enterprise-class offering that directly addresses the chief risk and compliance officer’s needs in a way that other vendors’ offerings cannot.”

“While demand for analytics-based FCC solutions is significant in financial services, where FICO and TONBELLER have an exceptionally strong global presence, this approach is also being embraced by businesses in non-financial industries like automotive, telecommunications, energy, logistics and retail,” said Torsten Mayer, member of the board of TONBELLER. “TONBELLER has a large customer base in these industries. FICO’s new extended solution, available on premise or in the cloud, will enable companies large and small, across industries and geographies, to realise the competitive advantages of a comprehensive, risk-based FCC solution.”

The management team and employees of TONBELLER will continue as part of FICO, contributing important domain expertise and ensuring continuity for clients and partners.