Negative news. Adverse media. Negative media. Reputationally exposed persons (REPs). By any name, screening customers against a constantly changing flow of publicly available information to identify potential financial crime risk is an enormous challenge.

The primary issue is not gathering information – news aggregators provide access to tens of thousands of online news sources – but having an efficient and effective process for weeding through and assessing the results. Guidance for screening on adverse media is less prescriptive than customer screening requirements for sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEPs), leaving organisations greater latitude in their approach.

This also adds to the challenges, which run the gamut from determining timing of reviews and ensuring source integrity to identifying fake news and categorising risk.