Florida Banking June 2024

right direction. For example, Nrisk is home to more than 40 model risk assessments including loan writing and servicing, BSA/AML/OFAC and IT governance. The solution’s implementation team includes former bank and credit union chief risk officers who know how to set up a risk management program at an institution like yours. New product, service and market launches. Launching a new product, service or market requires a lot of research. That includes digging into every state and federal law and regulation that apply to those products and services or that market. Ncomply is one KaaS solution that helps get to market faster. For example, its RequirementsBuilder feature leverages the research of Ncontracts’ compliance pros, making it possible to select a product and find out all applicable banking regulations in seconds instead of days. Vendor due diligence. Effective vendor management requires tremendous amounts of due diligence. A technology solution can give you a place to store all those documents and remind you when to gather updated documents — but it can’t help you with the real heavy lift: collecting, reading, and analyzing what really matters in page after page of test results, financial reports, SOC 2s, and other documents. A KaaS solution like Nvendor complements helpful software with expert vendor services. For instance, Ncontracts has a team of experts to gather due diligence documents, carefully read through the technical jargon, and then summarize the key points so that you have the information you need to risk assess your vendors. It also mines publicly available data for its Vendor Cyber-monitoring feature, which sends out alerts when selected vendors are having a cybersecurity issue Contract management. Contracts are long and complex and can hold a host of provisions that can help or hurt your bank. A technology solution can give you a centralized location to store documents and record key provisions after you locate them — but it’s not going to find them for you. Ntelligent Contracts Assistant, a module of Nvendor, leverages artificial intelligence trained by legal and contract experts for a solution that quickly extracts key information from third-party vendor contracts and agreements, making it possible for financial institutions to easily score contracts for risk and adherence to regulatory requirements, generate summaries of key contract terms, automatically create alerts for key dates, and search contracts for key terms and provisions (including renewal dates and price increases). Fair lending. A fair lending solution can do a perfectly fine job analyzing data, but a KaaS solution takes those analytics to the next level by explaining what they mean — and what actions your institution should take based on those findings.

At Ncontracts, KaaS means sophisticated data analysis paired with regular meetings with our Fair Lending analysts to help you understand what’s really going on with your fair lending program and what, if anything, you should be doing to adjust it. Data doesn’t mean anything without context. Nfairlending clients get access to an Ncontracts Fair Lending or CRA Analyst who walk them through the software, discuss focal points, and provide coaching/ guidance. Our expert team has access to a wide variety of data sites, giving clients insights that go beyond their own data for a uniquely comprehensive perspective. It also means our solution for Section 1071 compliance, N1071, is loaded with expert model content, videos, and other resources that streamline training and build your institutional knowledge. It doesn’t just transmit data. It helps you understand the big picture and get everyone ready. The Bottom Line on KaaS Solutions These are just a few examples of Knowledge as a Service solutions in risk management and compliance. In each case, the solutions help financial institutions better understand risk, eliminate time-consuming tasks, and benefit from a huge bench of industry-specific talent without having to invest heavily in staffing or infrastructure. Financial institutions that embrace KaaS solutions for risk and compliance management elevate their risk and compliance posture — and they do it quicker and more efficiently. From identifying regulatory change to knowing which controls to measure and monitor to getting an alert when a critical vendor is experiencing a cybersecurity issue, KaaS solutions help mitigate risks to reduce the likelihood of failing to meet business objectives, violating consumer protection laws, getting burned by a subpar vendor, or failing to recognize and remediate inadequate controls. These problems can end up costing a fortune. On the flip side, not having to rely heavily on expensive in-house talent and moving to market faster adds to the bottom line. It’s much more cost effective to invest in KaaS solutions backed by experts than to go it alone. Michael Berman is the founder and CEO of Ncontracts, one of the fastest-growing risk management companies in the financial services industry. A risk management evangelist, he combines decades of legal and regulatory experience with an extensive background in business strategy to solve operational risk management challenges. Berman is an in-demand speaker, a frequent contributor to industry publications, and the author of The Upside of Risk: Turning Complex Burdens into Strategic Advantages for Financial Institutions. Prior to founding Ncontracts, he served as General Counsel for Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Tecniflex, Inc. and Imagic Corporation. Berman received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and holds a J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee.

WWW.FLORIDABANKERS.COM JUNE 2024 — 15