Financial services organizations, such as credit unions, must comply with data mandates from a growing list of regulatory entities, from FINRA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Amid this increasingly global regulatory environment, organizations are struggling to comply with this vexing array of demands on their data. The proliferation of big data combined with changing rules and short response times create a perfect storm. In response, legal and risk management teams are increasingly using their corporate and employee data to their advantage to reduce or avoid legal fees and fines.

In May, FINRA issued a $17 million fine — the largest-ever penalty against a financial services firm — for anti-money laundering compliance failures. Financial institutions hoping to avoid a similar fate realize that a backward-looking approach to compliance cannot address future liability, especially now that governmental agencies are employing sophisticated data analytics to identify illegal activity.