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Department of Finance

Advancing Risk Management in Swiss Banking: AI-driven Client Documentation, Identity Matching, and Fraud Detection

RiskON 2025 White Paper by Prof. Walter Farkas and Dr. Daniel Fasnacht

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming a strategic enabler for the future of Swiss banking. As regulatory expectations evolve and financial crime becomes increasingly sophisticated, financial institutions must leverage innovative technologies to strengthen compliance, enhance operational resilience, and protect client trust.

The RiskON 2025 initiative brought together leading banks, universities, risk professionals, and technology experts to explore how AI can address some of the most pressing challenges in risk management. We have authored an academic summary titled "Advancing Risk Management in Swiss Banking: AI-driven Client Documentation, Identity Matching, and Fraud Detection."

Editors: Prof. Walter Farkas, Dr. Daniel Fasnacht
Scientific Coordinator: Patrick Lucescu

Academic Summary

Developed as part of the RiskON 2025 student hackathon and research collaboration, the 42-page report examines practical AI applications across three critical domains:

  • Client Documentation: Automating and improving the processing, classification, and validation of client information to increase efficiency and reduce operational risk.
  • Identity Matching: Enhancing customer onboarding and due diligence processes through advanced AI-powered entity resolution and verification techniques.
  • Fraud Detection: Strengthening financial crime prevention through intelligent anomaly detection, pattern recognition, and real-time risk monitoring.

The findings demonstrate that AI is not simply a tool for operational efficiency. It represents an opportunity to reinforce trust, improve governance, strengthen risk controls, and safeguard the reputation of Switzerland as a leading global financial center.

A key strength of the RiskON initiative is its collaborative approach. The project unites experts from major Swiss financial institutions, leading academic institutions, and technology partners to bridge research and real-world implementation. This ecosystem-driven model highlights how innovation can be developed responsibly while addressing practical industry needs.

As Swiss banking continues its digital transformation, responsible AI adoption will play a central role in maintaining competitiveness, managing emerging risks, and delivering sustainable value to clients and society.

We thank all participating students, researchers, industry experts, and partner organizations who contributed to this important initiative and helped advance the conversation around the future of risk management in Swiss banking.

Initiators, Partners and Sponsors

The RiskON format was developed by sminds AG in collaboration with Executive Education by the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics, UZH Department of Finance, UZH Innovation Hub, and Master of Science UZH ETH in Quantitative Finance.

Partners

Academic Partners:

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Photo Source: Remapstudio

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