To achieve compliance with anti-money laundering regulations introduced in the wake of terrorist attacks of last year, the US banking, securities and insurance industries will spend a combined total of US$10.9 billion through the end of 2005, according to projections by Celent Communications.

In a new report entitled Anti-Money Laundering: A Brave New World for Financial Institutions, Celent examines the extent of money laundering globally, and what financial institutions can - and in the US, must, by law - do to combat this widespread criminal practice.

Over the last 30 years, regulatory efforts and industry procedures to combat money laundering have been restricted largely to the banking world. The terrorist attacks of last year have now ushered in a brave new world of anti-money laundering (AML) regulation for virtually the entire US financial industry, in the form of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Of the total cost to US financial institutions to comply with the Act, software and hardware will account for six percent of total spending, or US$695 million. IT maintenance will account for 30 percent, or US$3.3 billion. Employee training, reporting, and compliance will make up the remaining 64 percent of AML spending through 2005.

"In the brave new world of post-9/11 AML requirements, financial institutions will need to develop comprehensive procedures to combat money laundering and to ensure compliance with the new government regulations," says Neil Katkov, author of the report. "Considering that AML practices - not to mention regulations - are an evolving art, keeping up with new technologies, methods and regulations will remain a challenging task for some years to come."

The report presents an overview of the global money laundering market, estimates the cost to the US financial industry of implementing AML programs to comply with the new regulations, and outlines what financial institutions should do to comply with these new rules. The report contains 11 charts and 3 tables.