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What's New?
With VisuaLinks 4.0 already in our users' hands - we have received some great feedback, which will be incorporated into
our 4.1 release. To see the newest 4.0 features, check out our
VisuaLinks Overviews for demonstrations of the
different capabilities of VisuaLinks including the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise editions with our Mapping
and new Draw Query capabilities.
There are a number of new features being incorporated into 4.1 to summarize, condense, and help present the
underlying details of the data models being analyzed. In 4.1 expect the following:
Merge Details - When merging objects together, users can selects from a set of parameters
to set the type of label to display, including the total count of objects, sum of values, min/max values, and
other aggregated attribute values. These values are automatically calculated and presented as the new label for
the merged object.
Cluster Alerts - Users can set an alert on a number of related objects in the display
(e.g., a cluster). Whenever a change occurs to any of the attributes or associations, the cluster alert will
trigger allowing the user to see the changed data. This capability significantly expands the existing Alerts
subsystem.
Cluster Summaries - Users select visible objects and produce a summary on any of the attribute
values where sum, max/min, and average values can be computed. Additionally it provides the ability to group the
results by attributes such that breakdowns for dates, different types, or other combinations of values can be seen.
Auto Merge (via the model) - Selecting different combinations of attribute values define how
objects will be auto-merged in the model. Using the standard Disambiguator functions (e.g., remove spaces,
time value, etc) in combination with different attribute values, objects are pre-merged before they are
displayed - thereby providing better quality visualizations because consolidation can be automatically performed.
Detailed Logging - Administrators now have better control over how much detail is included in the
standard log files. There are separate log entries for both the client and server components. Additional log entries
include comparators, filter conditions, object types, impersonation, and a number of other detailed values.
Undo - Yes, undo, is finally being implemented for our user community. This has been one of the most
requested features of all time and is finally available in VisuaLinks. All object movements, rendering, and placement
activities can now be easily undone. The system keeps track of all the interactions and permits the user to undo
previous commands - the default queue size is set at 10 entries.
And there is a lot more - make sure you get your updates!
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...holding down the Control Key when sorting columns resets the sort control?
In 4.0, the data in any table display (e.g., Details or Query Results) can be sorted by simply clicking on a column header/title. The column will sort from A->Z the first time the column is selected, then reverse to Z->A the second time it is selected, and then turn off the third time. Any number of columns can be selected and sub-sorted by their attributes -forming a hierarchy of sorts. This can be very effective when looking at subtle difference among the object details.
In 4.1, holding down the Control key when selecting a column will reset all other columns sorts and make the current column the primary sort value. This is an easy and quick way to clear previous settings.
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 Overview/Bird’s Eye
Visualization packages are very interactive - with lots of zooming, panning, and displaying of information. VisuaLinks is no exception,
and there are many ways to interact and navigate the data. One special feature that is available under the View menu
is the "Overview/Bird's Eye," which provides a high-level map of all the data available in the display. This feature provides
an easy way to navigate to different areas of the display while maintaining the context of the entire display.
For example, suppose you are looking at a specific network in a display, as shown below. This viewing area represents
only a small area of the total data. Instead of zooming out, fitting, zooming back in - there is a quick way to see
where you are in the context of the entire display.
Using the Overview/Bird's Eye feature (found under the View menu), pops up a window with the entire display as
shown below. Data in the gray area is not currently visible in the display. The white highlight box represents
the area that is currently exposed in the display. As you can see, our viewing area is near the top and in the
middle of the current view.
Navigating using this Bird's Eye Overview is performed by moving the highlight box to a new position.
The process is very similar to panning the display. The size of the highlight box is determined by the
zoom factor and will change as the scale of the objects changes. Zooming out will make the highlight box
larger and zooming in will make the highlight box smaller.
The results of moving the highlight box to a different part of the overview screen will expose the data
present in that part of the display. In this example, the highlight box is moved down and over to the left.
The following diagram shows the actual objects found at this new viable area.
Using the Overview/Bird's Eye feature is fast, simple, and effective when large volumes of data are present
in the display. This feature provides better navigation across the entire data display than scroll bars or
panning options because it allows you to see all the data in context. Try out this feature the next time
you display data in the VisuaLinks system.
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Filing Compliance
Recently, there has been a lot of news coverage in the banking and financial markets regarding compliance to
suspicious activity filing requirements *. In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and penalties**
have already been imposed on well-known institutions for not properly establishing adequate AML (Anti Money Laundering)
programs and failing to comply with money laundering rules including late filings, non-filings, and not keeping the
required backup documentation. As these crackdowns continue, many bank executives are re-examining their systems,
processes, and procedures to ensure they are in compliance with current filing requirements.
Often, the interpretation of "suspicious activity" is very subjective and somewhat nebulous, consequently,
financial institutions have resorted to "defensive filings" where virtually any type of questionable activity
is reported - thus, making it more difficult for law enforcement to prioritize and effectively deal with actual
money laundering crimes due to the volumes of irrelevant data they are receiving. There are a lot of debates,
concerns, and discussions occurring between the financial community and the government in trying to work out
how to best deal with the situation. However, in the meantime, due diligence examinations are being conducted
to try and identify those organizations that are not playing by the rules and attempting to avoid their filing
responsibilities.
There are a number of different approaches for finding non-compliant financial institutions within the
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data, and most notably, the SAR (Suspicious Activity Reports) database. One method
involves checking for consistency of the financial institution's name under the same
EIN (Employer Identification Number) which is a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to
business entities (e.g., the equivalent of a social security number for businesses).
In many cases, the same bank will file SAR reports but alter the way their name appears
on the form.
Sometimes there are simple abbreviations such as Bank, Banks, Bk, as well as Bank of New York,
Bank of NY, or Bank NY. Simple variations in spelling result in different aggregate valuations
calculated for the number of filings for each bank, which is a basic method for determining if
there is compliance. The VisuaLinks Summarize service can quickly determine if there are spelling
variations of the name based on the use of a common EIN as is shown in the example below. Too many
variations from a single institution will result in a corrective action to ensure more consistent
filings.
Filers grouped by NAME and EIN values
In addition, other compliance checks are run to determine "form completion" as submitted by a financial institution. This includes looking for missing fields that are mandatory, such as the EIN, Filer/Branch Address, Contact information, Dates, Narratives etc. There are no situations where this level of detail should ever be left off a form, and it usually indicates that the reporting process at the institution is flawed.
There are other benchmarks that are also used based on the asset size and transaction activity for a financial institution. The following example depicts results generated by the VisuaLinks Summarize service run on two similarly-sized banks. The third column shows the number of unique DCNs (Document Control Numbers - e.g., individual SAR filings) generated for the bank. The fourth and fifth columns show the respective breakdown by month (as an integer) and year - and allow regulators to see the consistency of when the filings were made (as opposed to all at one time).
The first diagram shows the bank regularly makes, on average, approximately 100 filings each and every month. Some months are higher than others, but the behavior is fairly consistent and clearly shows the bank is making a good effort at being compliant. In the second diagram, the numbers are substantially lower, with a minimal number of filings each month. In fact, there are several months missing from the result set indicating there were no filings made during that period. This is a clear indication that this bank has been lax in their reporting effort.
Number of SARs for Bank #1 (compliant reporting) by Month and Year
Number of SARs for Bank #2 (underreporting) by Month and Year
Another approach to exposing filing non-compliance deals with various dates associated with the suspicious activity. There are start dates, end dates, and filing dates contained on every SAR filing and these dates should always be filled in and accurate. One simple test is to look for submissions that are missing any of these dates. It is a quick and simple process that exposes a large number of violators.
Additionally, according to 103.18 of the Bank Secrecy Act, all financial institutions are required to file a SAR within 30 days of the discovery of suspicious activity. This compliance issue can be checked by comparing these dates to see if the institution was timely in submitting its SAR filings. The following diagram shows several examples of a bank filing their SARs outside of the 30 days window (as well as missing dates). These SARs would be reviewed manually and the narrative read in detail and if it was found to be outside of compliance, the fine breakdown is as follows:
Violation Amount <$25,000 = $25,000
Violation Amount between $25,000 - $100,000 = Violation Amount
Violation Amount >$100,000 = $100,000
SAR Filing Dates, Start Dates, and End Dates (several w/30 day gaps)
There are a number of other factors regulators look for when discovering non-compliant filers. Better regulation, content, and timeliness will lead to better law enforcement efforts to help curb the massive amounts of money laundering and financial crimes occurring in our financial institutions.
*For more information on the Patriot Act and 314 filing requirements, please visit these FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) web pages:
**Other web sites that provide more detail regarding fines and penalties assessed to financial institutions:
A good introduction to filing compliance can be found at:
To learn more about the penalties for non-compliance visit:
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