When MBH Bank was formed through the merger of MKB Bank, Budapest Bank, and Takarékbank, it was more than a structural change – it was a redefinition of purpose. Thousands of employees, each with their own culture, systems, and ways of working, suddenly found themselves in the same environment, facing the challenge of creating a unified ecosystem for hundreds of players across the land.
One of the project’s most critical points was the data warehouse. While development work on the centralized data warehouse was still underway, laying the foundation for a unified AML system became necessary, too. The existing SAS AML solution from MKB was chosen as the basis, but it had to be rebuilt and expanded to accommodate the data from all three banks.
“We had to hop from three different systems of three banks to be able to operate a unified SAS AML system, which had to be fed from a common data warehouse, but this was being built at the same time as the developments related to the merger were taking place. We knew that we would face some challenges. We had to pay attention to data quality, but it was also unclear whether all the data would be available at launch,”
says Eszter Katalin Petrovszkiné Fábián, Senior Anti-Money Laundering Expert at MBH.
Selecting the right scenarios was no simple task either. The team adopted MKB’s existing ruleset but supplemented it right from the start with new scenarios, such as those linked to credit card usage. During integration, it quickly became clear that certain data structures and operational principles differed among the three banks, requiring continuous fine-tuning, especially in the first months after the merger, when the team had to tackle issues like filtering out false alerts and adjusting screening rules.
Beyond technology, the project was also a serious human challenge. Harmonizing the three different organizational cultures, methodologies, and operational mindsets did not happen overnight. The AML teams needed to understand each other’s systems, data, and ways of thinking. Over time, new operational models emerged, no longer reflecting the legacy of individual banks but building instead on the unified vision established by MBH Bank.
“I could put it humorously that an apple, a pear, and a banana eventually became a plum [laughs]. Consortix was a great help in this, because unfortunately, there were doubts earlier about how to feed the systems,”
adds Gabriella Erdei, Money Laundering Prevention Monitoring Manager at MBH.
The merger took place under strict regulatory oversight. The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) required regular, detailed reports on the status of the unified AML system and set the expectation that the system should be fully operational, including historical data processing, from the very first day. Meeting these requirements was no small feat, particularly as new data sources and functionalities, such as enhanced case management and the display of customer risk information, were simultaneously being introduced into the system.
“We developed a working relationship with the team at Consortix that enabled everyone to work together actively. The fact that we had to connect so closely at the beginning meant that the consultants at Consortix now know in a couple of sentences what we are looking for in a solution on the IT side,”
says Gabriella Erdei.
Based on experience since the system’s go-live, we can state that the new AML solution operates reliably and is significantly more efficient than the three separate systems it replaced. The unified, data warehouse-fed platform has substantially improved the accessibility and reliability of data, as well as streamlined the handling of alerts and case investigations.
Of course, here too, as with every project, there came an end-of-the-world situation. It's inevitable. At such times, all teams came together and started thinking. The creation of such a complex system is the result of shared thinking.
"I always felt during our work together that I couldn't ask a bad question. I experienced that the implementation side was happy if I wanted to understand the system better,"
notes Mrs. Petrovszkiné Fábián when the topic of cooperation comes up.
The success of the project demonstrated that challenges, whether technological hurdles, cultural differences, or regulatory pressures, can be overcome through focused collaboration and continuous improvement. MBH Bank’s AML system today stands as the result of a focused and strategic organizational transformation.
(Image: mbhbank.hu)
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