First Derivative

Last week we asked what stops banks deploying AI in financial crime and most of you said regulatory uncertainty.

The 2026 1LoD Financial Crime Benchmarking Survey says data - 92% name data constraints among their top AI barriers, 85% legacy integration and regulatory caution comes third on 54%.

The more revealing number: 62% point to fragmentation across silos as the biggest data issue and not data quality. Fragmented data usually sits alongside fragmented processes and automation laid over a broken workflow only speeds it up.

In this week's First View, Nicola Magennis and Kate Madine share what they heard from financial crime leaders at the report launches in London and New York.


Read it here: https://firstderivative.com/first-view/what-the-2026-financial-crime-benchmarking-survey-is-really-telling-us/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=fv-1lod-benchmarking

Download the report:https://www.1lod.com/financial-crime-benchmarking-survey-2026?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=fd-first-view

What does it really take to clear 20 years of legacy data?

Legacy systems can create complexity, increase operational risk and make it harder for organisations to build a more agile technology environment.

In our latest insight, Daren Foster explores the journey behind a major legacy decommissioning programme from navigating complex data environments and dependencies to reducing risk and creating a cleaner, more efficient technology landscape.

Discover the key lessons from the process and what organisations can consider when tackling legacy technology and data.

🔗 Read the full insight here: https://firstderivative.com/insights/legacy-decommissioning-how-we-cleared-20-years-of-data/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=in-legacy-decommissioning

A look back at our FD & KX Meetup in Glasgow

As Victoria Shanks reflects, the evening was a fantastic opportunity to share insights, connect and continue conversations across the community.

Hosted at Morgan Stanley, the evening brought together colleagues, partners and members of the kdb community to explore the latest in KDB-X, time-series data and AI.

From technical insights and demos to great conversations and networking, it was fantastic to see such strong engagement across the community. With the event completely oversubscribed, we’re already looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to Morgan Stanley for hosting, KX News for the continued collaboration, and everyone who joined us.

Read in full here: https://firstderivative.com/first-view/highlights-from-the-fd-kx-meetup-in-glasgow/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=fv-fd-kx-glasgow-meetup

A big day at First Derivative!

We were delighted to welcome First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald and Invest NI CEO Kieran Donoghue to our Newry office yesterday to mark an exciting new chapter for First Derivative and Northern Ireland’s technology sector.

We’re proud to announce a £15.3 million investment in AI and fintech, supporting the creation of 100 new jobs across Newry and Belfast and the development of a new AI and Fintech Centre of Excellence.

Yesterday was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our local people, our work and our continued commitment to driving innovation and creating high-value opportunities here in Northern Ireland.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate this exciting milestone.

Read in full here: https://firstderivative.com/news-room/ministers-announce-multi-million-pound-investment-in-new-ai-and-fintech-centre-of-excellence/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=nr-ministers-ai-investment

🔥 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒐𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒕! 🔥

Meet Fitzroy Eccleston Service Delivery Manager at First Derivative!
From spending over 12 years mastering the Murex world to stepping into senior leadership, pioneering AI-driven tools, and balancing life with two young daughters, Fitzroy’s journey is a fantastic reminder that growth comes from continuous learning and collaboration.

His best advice? "You are never going to know everything, and that gets easier once you stop treating it as a gap to close... Knowing who to bring into the room is worth more than trying to know everything."

Tap through to read Fitzroy’s full Hot Seat feature and get to know the person behind the role.

Click the link to see more stories like Fitzroy's.

https://firstderivative.com/hot-seats/fitzroy-eccleston/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=hs-fitzroy-eccelston

Perpetual KYC has been talked about for years. So, what's changed?

The challenge was never simply having more data - it was understanding what actually matters. AI is now making it possible to connect information across sources, identify genuine changes in a customer's risk profile, and bring the right context to investigators when human judgement is needed.

The result? Continuous monitoring, rather than continuous investigation.
But AI is only as good as the data, policy and governance underneath it - get that wrong and you get perpetual noise, not perpetual KYC. Our latest insight explores how firms can turn perpetual KYC from an industry ambition into a practical reality, and what needs to be true in your organisation to get there.

Read the full article 👇
https://firstderivative.com/insights/ai-is-finally-making-perpetual-kyc-a-reality/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=in-perpetual-kyc

7x faster. That's not a typo.
We've been exploring what happens when you bring AI-native development practices into kdb+/q analytics workflows.
The results surprised even us.
Here's what we uncovered:
→ Where traditional SDLC bottlenecks are costing financial data teams the most time
→ How AI-native approaches are reshaping development cycles
→ The specific workflow changes that delivered 7x speed improvements
Whether you're leading a quant team, managing data infrastructure, or building analytics at scale — this one's worth 10 minutes of your time.
📄 View Guan Yu Lim's full whitepaper by clicking the link below.

https://firstderivative.com/white-papers/kdb-q-analytics-at-7x-speed-an-ai-native-sdlc-for-financial-data-teams/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=wp-guan-kdb-q