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Volker Liermann, Partner at ifb “Digitalization and Machine Learning, the second volume of The Digital Journey of Banking This book, the second one of three volumes, gives
group, worked in the banking and Insurance, offers the necessary but often missing link between business and technical practical examples by a number of use cases showing
industry for over two decades,
primarily focusing on financial
view.”
—Dr. Carsten Stolz, CFO Baloise Group THE DIGITAL JOURNEY how to take first steps in the digital journey of banks and
insurance companies. The angle shifts over the volumes
risk management. Throughout
his career, he has focused on “This three-volume book series spans from a business view in the first volume up to a
OF BANKING AND INSURANCE from a business-driven approach in “Disruption and DNA”
to a strong technical focus in “Data Storage, Processing
developing integrated and technical view in the last volume. This second volume is the bridge between the business and Analysis”, leaving “Digitalization and Machine Learn-
comprehensive frameworks to view and the technical view, the frequently required but often missing link. This link makes ing Applications” with the business and technical aspects
DIGITALIZATION AND MACHINE LEARNING

THE DIGITAL JOURNEY OF BANKING AND INSURANCE · VOLUME II
help organizations correctly the book series a comprehensive work.” in-between. This second volume mainly emphasizes use
project risk at a strategic —Bernhard Hodler, Former CEO Julius Baer Group cases as well as the methods and technologies applied to
and tactical line of business drive digital transformation (such as processes, leveraging
and departmental level. He “My experience shows me that one of the most important topics is to build the link between computational power and machine learning models).
has also focused on developing frameworks to integrate business and technical view or in other words to have real business (use)cases; it is great to
stress testing and regulatory stress tests. In recent years, see that in Digitalization and Machine Learning, the second volume of The Digital Journey of
his focus has shifted to digitalization, machine learning Banking and Insurance as one of the hottest topics in our time.”
and digital processes including improvements to classical —Gerhard Lahner, CEO of Vienna Insurance Group
financial and non-financial risk management. He has a
background in economics and a degree in mathematics “Virtually all financial institutions have embarked on ambitious digital journeys, both to
from the University of Bonn. provide better products and customer experience more efficiently and in response to the
threat of industry disruption by FinTech competitors. There is no doubt that there will be
winners, and there will be losers. I am convinced that The Digital Journey of Banking and
Claus Stegmann has as
Insurance series is indispensable reading for the future winners.”
Co-CEO of ifb group – an
—Thomas C. Wilson, CEO, President and Country Manager at Allianz Ayudhya
international consulting firm –
acquired extensive know-how
“We do remember when we started our digital journey, but we do not know when it will
over the last three decades in
be over. Therefore, we are definitely in the middle. The book series The Digital Journey of
the financial industry regarding
Banking and Insurance is a must-read for of all of us.”
finance transformation, risk
—Christian Peter Kromann, CEO, SimCorp
management and regulatory
compliance. He is intensively
engaged with the current
challenges of the financial
industry, which result
from strong changes to customer behavior, a changing
competitive environment and new technologies due to
digitalization. He has also co-authored books on Stress
Tests in Banks, Basel III as well as Digitalization in the
Finance Industry, and graduated from Business School VOLUME II
at the University of Passau, Germany.
DIGITALIZATION
Volker Liermann
Claus Stegmann
AND MACHINE
Edited by
ISBN 978-3-030-78828-5 LEARNING
EDITED BY
9 783030 788285
Volker Liermann & Claus Stegmann
The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance,
Volume II
“Digitalization and Machine Learning, the second volume of The Digital Journey
of Banking and Insurance, Volume II , offers the necessary but often missing link
between business and technical view.”
—Dr. Carsten Stolz, CFO Baloise Group
“This three-volume book series spans from a business view in the first volume up
to a technical view in the last volume. This second volume is the bridge between
the business view and the technical view, the frequently required but often missing
link. This link makes the book series a comprehensive work.”
—Bernhard Hodler, Former CEO Julius Baer Group
“My experience shows me that one of the most important topics is to build the
link between business and technical view or in other words to have real business
(use)cases; it is great to see that in Digitalization and Machine Learning, the second
volume of The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II as one of the
hottest topics in our time.”
—Gerhard Lahner, COO of Vienna Insurance Group
“Virtually all financial institutions have embarked on ambitious digital journeys,

both to provide better products and customer experience more efficiently and in
response to the threat of industry disruption by FinTech competitors. There is no
doubt that there will be winners, and there will be losers. I am convinced that The
Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II series is indispensable reading
for the future winners.”
—Thomas C. Wilson, CEO, President and Country Manager at Allianz Ayudhya
“We do remember when we started our digital journey, but we do not know when
it will be over. Therefore, we are definitely in the middle. The book series The
Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II is a must-read for of all of
us.”
—Christian Peter Kromann, CEO, SimCorp
Volker Liermann · Claus Stegmann
Editors
The Digital Journey

of Banking
and Insurance,
Volume II
Digitalization and Machine Learning
Editors
Volker Liermann Claus Stegmann
ifb SE ifb Americas, Inc.
Grünwald, Germany Charlotte, NC, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-78828-5 ISBN 978-3-030-78829-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78829-2
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
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Acknowledgments
The three-book series was the natural next step from the book The Impact of
Digital Transformation and FinTech on the Finance Professional and an exciting
project for us. We look back with gratitude at the many discussions with
clients, partners and colleagues at ifb. Without this vital community, such an
undertaking would not be possible.
We would first like to thank all contributors (clients, partners and
colleagues), whose expertise was invaluable in exploring and formulating
such a comprehensive work with a wide overview and deep insights. Their
insightful feedback helped us to sharpen this work to this amazing level.
In addition, we would like to thank Tula Weis and her team from Palgrave
Macmillan for advice and support in this project.
We like to thank Satzanstalt for supporting us in the development and
realization of the book covers idea.
We would also like to thank our colleagues Julia Horstmann, Davin Rader-
macher and Jenny Klein for their support in all the small, but important
things that make such an undertaking a success.
Volker Liermann
Claus Stegmann
v
Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and
Machine Learning
Looking at the whole book series The Digital Journey of Banking and Insur-
ance, Volume II , this second volume might be the most important one in
the context of digital transformation. Practical experience in digital transfor-
mation shows that the combination of in-depth knowledge of the business
processes and the ability to leverage the new technology are the keys to a
successful digital transformation.
The starting point of digital transformation is a key decision to be made.
Some institutions start with the technology and build up teams for machine
learning, cloud computing and data lakes. Once the infrastructure is ready,
they look for cases to leverage the technology. Other organizations start with
a focus on the more pressing business challenges and look for tools in the
lucky bag of digital transformation. The second approach tends to deliver
a more efficient digital strategy. One of the reasons for this is the dilemma
of vision and value (see Stegmann and Ludwig 2021): after a few years with
mixed success in digital transformation, the stakeholders demand a long-term
value (and profit) strategy, which is challenging due to narrowed margins, new
competitors and technology and infrastructure investments to be made.
The challenge posed by the second approach (driven by the business unit
needs, internal/external business units) is to anchor the technology knowl-
edge and enable the business units to leverage the technology. Studying and
discussing successful use cases will enable the business units to discover certain
promising patterns. The business units will then be able to project these
patterns onto their own business needs.
vii
viii Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning
The deep dive into practical use cases offers an understanding of the ingre-
dients of digital transformations. When looking at the many use cases, certain
structures come to light: e.g. pattern identification to group and cluster trans-
actions and use these clusters for processing similar transactions in a stan-
dardized way (for fraud detection see [Enzinger and Li 2021], or for opti-
mization of regression tests see [Liermann, Li and Wünnemann], Use Case—
Optimization of Regression Tests—Reduction of the Test Portfolio Through
Representative Identification 2021) and for projection of terminations see
(Schmüser et al. 2021). Another important design is to continuously learn
from humans and improve automation through automated decision-making
using machine learning (see [Liermann et al. “Hyperautomation (Automated
Decision-Making as Part of RPA)” 2021] and [Gabriel 2021]).
In-depth business knowledge is inevitable. Only the business units can
identify the application of the new technologies with the best leverage. The
implementation of most of the technologies is to some extent complex or
needs at least some good IT fundamentals. The tasks can only be solved by a
team working closely together. The close collaboration of business units and
IT is not a new approach. However, not only do the boundaries need to be
overcome, but the two parties need to merge their knowledge to understand
the other side in a deeper fashion than before.
Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs CEO) stated “We are a technology firm,”
emphasizing that IT is the major tool to transform data into information and
knowledge. Dave McKay took the different viewpoint “If a bank thinks it
is a tech company, then it is wrong. We are still business-to-consumer and
business-to-business companies, trying to meet customer needs. Banks are
using technology to anticipate those needs and meet them in a creative way,
but we don’t derive our income from technology.” It is correct that no income
is generated by technology and the customer needs are at the center of atten-
tion. Dave McKay’s view is supported by the creative use of technology to
analyze and anticipate customer behavior (outside digitalization). Inside digi-
talization helps the institute to optimize the tasks and reduce costs or provide
more insights with the same costs.
Figure 1 illustrates inside and outside digitalization and their impact on
cost reduction and revenue increase.
Most of the use cases presented in this book are in the lower areas of
analytics and predictive analytics as well as process and process automation
and contribute to the cost reduction of internal tasks.
Another important aspect of digital transformation originates from the
processes or, to be more precise, the functions documented in the functional
architecture linked by processes to get the required tasks done. To improve
Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning ix
Outside
digitization
Customer
Partner
Bank
Inside
digitization
Customer
Contribution to Contribution Bank internal
revenue increase to cost reduction Partner
1) Distributed ledger can be seen here as a generic term for cryptocurrencies
and other applications in DLT area (like Bitcoin).
2) incl. Cloud
Fig. 1 Overview digital transformation © ifb SE
the processes, two roads could be taken: (A) improve the processes with the
functions already existing and (B) improve the functions and the ways the
tasks are handled.
Process improvement—up to a certain level—could be achieved by RPA
and other techniques to adjust automation within the processes. Process
mining can help to identify the slow and weak parts of a process. RPA
can provide the organization with incremental process improvements, which
could subsequently lead to significant cost reductions.
More potential lies in the deeper, functionally oriented analysis of the
underlying tasks and a recomposition of the functions in the existing
processes. This is still far from a disruptive process improvement (or at least a
rare outcome). On the one hand, these functionally driven process improve-
ments generally have a greater potential for optimization. On the other,
the potential for failure is higher in the implementation, as with all signif-
icant changes. The focus on incremental process improvements or functional
process improvements is accompanied by a risk/return assessment, calculation
and evaluation.
Cyber risk is omnipresent for all institutions and is continuously rising due
to the growing portion of data available electronically. While the IoT1 and the
risk of attacks on remotely managed physical machines are significant in the
industry, the principal2 cyber risk arises from the threat of disclosure of client
1 Internet of Things.
2 In terms of the impact on reputational risk.
x Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning
or position data. Cyber risk will not go away, but the management could be
improved continuously.
Quantum computing is a groundbreaking technology. Practical implemen-
tation is not at hand for every institution, but it is within sight and expected
to become a standard practice in the coming decade. The way algorithms are
structured is significantly different from the classical (binary) programming
paradigm. The differing programming paradigm is a challenge for all nonthe-
oretical physicists and some aspects might demand different thinking even for
mathematicians. The hurdle is even higher for all others, but a basic knowl-
edge about the idea behind quantum computers is again the key to identifying
the relevant use cases, helping to improve the business. Quantum computing
will contribute to scenario generation and analysis, making it a powerful tool
for all risk managers and controllers.
Overview of Book Series

This book is the second volume of the three-volume book series The Digital
Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II . The first volume Disruption
and DNA focuses on change and the things staying stable in the banking
and insurance market (outside view) as well as the effect on accounting, risk
management and regulatory departments (inside view). The inside view is
completed by an analysis of cultural alterations. This volume “Digitaliza-
tion and Machine Learning Applications” mainly emphasizes use cases as
well as the methods and technologies applied (such as processes, leveraging
computational power and machine learning models). In the last volume of
the series, “Data Storage, Processing and Analysis,” the view of the way we
deal with data shifts. The angle shifts over the volumes from a business-driven
approach in the Disruption and DNA volume to a strong technical focus in
the Data Storage, Processing and Analysis volume, leaving the Digitalization
and Machine Learning Applications volume with the business and technical
aspects in-between.
Overview of the Parts of This Book

This volume indicates the technological requirements and builds a bridge
between the business-inspired first volume and the technology-driven third
volume.
Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning xi
The first part offers insights into use cases in the context of inside digital-
ization. All use cases show the importance of models to identify patterns and
demonstrate how to work with the results. The use cases discussed are applied
in accounting and risk management.
The second part illustrates how the improved availability of computa-
tional power and innovation can encourage new applications in the context of
risk management and planning. One example is the visualization of scenario
results via a dynamic dashboard.
Quantum computing is the topic of the third part of the volume. Reports
from practical applications in a lab setting and beyond are combined with
a compact and focused deep dive into the setup of programming: quantum
computing and quantum annealing.
Processes and process optimization (including process automation) are
major areas in a digital transformation. The fourth part is dedicated to
processes and process optimization and presents the tools to improve the
processes tactically and sustainably.
The last part visits the space of open source and explores the origins of this
omnipresent paradigm. It investigates the success of open source and defines
the areas in which open source is most successful. A summary of all parts
closes this volume.
Literature
Enzinger, Philipp, and Sangmeng Li. 2021. “Fraud Detection Using Machine
Learning Techniques.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume
II—Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and Claus
Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gabriel, Jens. 2021. “RPA Use Case—‘IFRS 9/SPPI’.” In The Digital Journey of
Banking and Insurance, Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited
by Volker Liermann and Claus Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Liermann, Volker, Sangmeng Li, and Christoph Wünnemann. 2021. “Use Case—
Representative Identification.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance,
Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and
Claus Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Liermann, Volker, Sangmeng Li, and Johannes Waizner. 2021. “Hyperautomation
(Automated Decision-Making as Part of RPA).” In The Digital Journey of Banking
and Insurance, Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker
Liermann and Claus Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schmüser, Arne, Farah Skaf, and Harro Dittmar. 2021. “Use Case—NFR—HR
Risk.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II—Digitalization
xii Introduction to Volume II—Digitalization and Machine Learning
and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and Claus Stegmann. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Stegmann, Claus, and Sven Ludwig. 2021. “Digitalization Strategy.” In The Digital
Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume I—Disruption and DNA, by Volker
Liermann and Claus Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Contents
Use Cases
Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests—Reduction
of the Test Portfolio Through Representative Identification 5
Volker Liermann, Sangmeng Li, and Christoph Wünnemann
Use Case—Nostro Accounts Match 21
Volker Liermann, Sangmeng Li, and Johannes Waizner
Use Case—Fraud Detection Using Machine Learning
Techniques 33
Philipp Enzinger and Sangmeng Li
Use Case: NFR—HR Risk 51
Harro Dittmar, Arne Schmüser, and Farah Skaf
Sentiment Analysis for Reputational Risk Management 73
Daniel Schröder and Marian Tieben
Use Case: NFR—Using GraphDB for Impact Graphs 99
Volker Liermann and Marian Tieben
xiii
xiv Contents
High-Performance Applications
Distributed Calculation Credit Portfolio Models 119
BSDS: Balance Sheet Dynamics Simulator 135
Volker Liermann and Harro Dittmar
Dynamic Dashboards 155
Volker Liermann and Sangmeng Li
High-Performance Applications 181
Xenia Bogomolec
Quantum Computing
Post-quantum Secure Cryptographic Algorithms 189
Xenia Bogomolec and Jochen Gerhard
Quantum Technologies 201
Peter Nonnenmann and Xenia Bogomolec
Categorical Quantum Theory 221
Peter Nonnenmann
Process and Process Optimization

Processes in a Digital Environment 233
Marie Kristin Czwalina, Chiara Jakobs, Christopher Schmidt,
Matthias Jacoby, and Sebastian Geisel
Process Mining 259
Lars Rautenburger and Alexander Liebl
Hyperautomation (Automated Decision-Making as Part
of RPA) 277
RPA Use Case—“IFRS 9/SPPI” 295
Jens Gabriel
Contents xv
Open Source
Open-Source Software 313
Volker Liermann
Summary 325
Volker Liermann and Claus Stegmann
Index 329
Notes on Contributors
Xenia Bogomolec is a Mathematician and Infor-

mation Security Specialist with a background in
Computer algebra, system engineering, network
programming and lawful telecommunication inter-
ception. She has worked as an analyst and
functional-technical coordinator with a strong
regulatory focus in various IT and information
security projects in the financial and biotech
industry. Since 2017, she has also worked with
various collaborators on post-quantum security
analyses. This includes identification of post-
quantum secure cryptographic algorithms with
regard to known quantum attacks. Since autumn
2020, a small team from her recently founded
company Quant-X Security & Coding has also
been working on quantum algorithm tests on
quantum annealing processors.
xvii
xviii Notes on Contributors
Marie Kristin Czwalina Senior Consultant, has

been working at ifb group in the Core Banking
Team since 2020. She deals with further devel-
opment in the area of innovation management
and digitalization topics around the areas of
sales and processing in banks and specializes in
process automation, customer-oriented advice and
the implementation of GDPR requirements in IT
applications. She studied business informatics with
a focus on IT management in her master’s degree at
the FOM University of Applied Sciences.
Dr. Harro Dittmar Senior Consultant at ifb SE,

is a Passionate Programmer with a confident and
structured approach to the modeling of complex
systems. His aspiration is the thorough under-
standing, implementation and troubleshooting of
scenario calculations, predictions and optimization
problems from a holistic perspective. After his
academic career in statistical modeling and pattern
recognition of molecular systems, he started a career
in the banking sector. His consulting focus includes
quantitative risk modeling, strategic approaches to
the optimization of data architectures and data
management.
Philipp Enzinger is Managing Consultant at ifb

and responsible for insurance analytics and risk
topics. At ifb, Mr. Enzinger leads the digitalization
workgroup for insurance data science. As project
manager and subject matter expert, he has been
advising financial institutions on credit risk and
financial transformation topics for more than five
years. In recent years, Mr. Enzinger has focused
on insurance companies’ IFRS 17/9 implementa-
tion—in particular new risk calculations as well
as impacts on planning, reporting and financial
steering. Mr. Enzinger holds an M.Sc. degree in
economics from the University of Cologne.
Notes on Contributors xix
Jens Gabriel Director at ifb SE, has been working

as a consultant in the banking industry in Europe
for more than fifteen years. He has in-depth expe-
rience both in advising business departments and
in implementing standard software. In addition to
this, he possesses in-depth knowledge of accounting
and reporting standards (IFRS and local GAAP),
especially of financial instruments. He is also an
expert in IT as well as functional architecture
and has focused on SAP Bank Analyzer and SAP
S/4HANA FPSL implementation regarding IFRS 9
and project management. He has also co-authored
books and professional articles on IFRS and Basel
III. He graduated in economics from Technical
University of Cologne.
Sebastian Geisel works at ifb as a Senior Consul-

tant in the Finance Process Excellence Team. Before
joining ifb, he gained significant experience in opti-
mization and digitalization of financial and opera-
tional processes with a special focus on real estate.
Now, he also works on the development and imple-
mentation of target operating models for insurance
companies and engages in the development of digi-
talization and process automation topics. He did
his master’s degree in business administration at the
LSE (London School of Economics and Political
Science) and the University of Trier.
Dr. Jochen Gerhard is a Risk Specialist in Group

Risk Management at Commerzbank AG. In his
former role as Manager at BearingPoint, he advised
financial institutions and supervisors in various
projects about risks, data collection and analytics
systems. He has always combined the business
aspects with the technology challenges in the area
of security, analytics and artificial intelligence. He
studied mathematics and computer science and has
worked as a theoretical physicist.
xx Notes on Contributors
Matthias Jacoby Director at ifb, is head of the

Finance Process Excellence Team. During his
studies in business administration with a major
in finance and accounting, he gained interna-
tional work experience in Germany, Switzerland
and Spain. Before joining ifb International AG
(Zurich, Switzerland), he spent five years working
for Ernst & Young in Assurance & Advisory
Services and successfully completed his Swiss CPA
qualification in 2011. During the last nine years
working for ifb, he has mainly been involved in
large finance transformation projects at financial
service providers. Based on his expertise in finan-
cial processes and benchmark know-how, he has led
several process optimization projects, including Fast
Close or Outsourcing within Europe.
Chiara Jakobs Senior Consultant, has been

working at ifb group in the area of Regulation
and Reporting since 2018. She is mainly involved
in regulatory projects from a functional perspec-
tive, focusing on business analysis for clients
within the financial services sector in Germany and
Luxembourg. Additionally, she strongly focuses on
innovation and digitalization topics in terms of
process optimization and automation. She studied
international business at Maastricht University—
School of Business and Economics (Maastricht,
The Netherlands) and successfully completed
her master’s degree with a major in strategy and
innovation.
Notes on Contributors xxi
Dr. Sangmeng Li Senior Consultant at ifb SE, has

primarily worked as a Data Scientist for quantita-
tive risk management in the financial industry with
a focus on data analysis, risk modeling and tech-
nical implementation. She received her doctorate
in mathematics from the University of Münster,
having conducted research on stochastic differen-
tial equation and Monte Carlo simulation as part
of her Ph.D.
Alexander Liebl joined ifb group as a Senior

Consultant in April 2019 after gathering several
years of experience in consulting projects in the
financial services industry. He is part of the Insur-
ance unit at ifb group and the leading process
mining expert. The business information scien-
tist advises and supports insurance companies in
their digitalization programs. His focus lies on agile
project management, business process management
and operational excellence. He also has a profound
academic background in technology and inno-
vation management and holds a master’s degree
(Master of Science).
Volker Liermann Partner at ifb group, worked

in the banking industry for over two decades,
primarily focusing on financial risk management.
Throughout his career, he has focused on devel-
oping integrated and comprehensive frameworks
to help organizations correctly project risk at a
strategic and tactical line of business and depart-
mental level. He has also focused on developing
frameworks to integrate stress testing and regu-
latory stress tests. In recent years, his focus has
shifted to digitalization, machine learning and
digital processes including improvements to clas-
sical financial and nonfinancial risk management.
He has a background in economics and a degree in
mathematics from the University of Bonn.
xxii Notes on Contributors
Dr. Peter Nonnenmann Senior Scientist at

Quant-X Security & Coding GmbH, is a highly
experienced Computer Scientist and Quantum
Theory Expert who prefers to work on solu-
tions for problems with a clear industrial focus.
The most recent projects at Quant-X Security &
Coding involved work on quantum algorithm solu-
tions for chosen industrial problems and quantum
security analyses of globally used symmetric crypto
algorithms. Before that, he co-authored a contri-
bution in DIGITALE WELT magazine on a
novel approach to AI and 3D computer vision by
defining a preliminary but mathematically rigorous
concept for “holistic, global information,” incor-
porating category and sheaf theory into neural
networks. He holds a degree in informatics with a
strong focus on mathematics from the University
of Frankfurt.
Lars Rautenburger Director and Head of Oper-

ational Excellence. He is responsible for the
digital transformation of insurance companies,
including topics like process mining, robotic
process automation, data science, change manage-
ment and agile project management. Before joining
ifb, he acquired extensive know-how in the insur-
ance industry for more than 20 years. At Sopra
Steria SE, he led the insurance consulting work-
force in ASG. At MSG Systems AG, he was respon-
sible for business consulting insurance. He started
his career in consulting with Accenture, where he
worked for nearly ten years. He has an economics
background with a degree in business administra-
tion from the University of Siegen.
Notes on Contributors xxiii
Christopher Schmidt joined the ifb group in

April of 2019. The Senior Consultant has a strong
record of managing complex projects in interna-
tional environments as well as a proven skillset in
developing automated processes with RPA tech-
nology. The certified RPA Advanced Developer
focuses on the development of software robots
as well as the design of target operating models
and overall RPA strategy. Before joining ifb, he
already gathered experience as a consultant in
projects within the financial sector, at both insur-
ance companies and banks.
Arne Schmüser Senior Consultant at ifb SE since

2015, has been working in the banking industry
with a focus on data governance, data architecture
and data quality management. His work as a Busi-
ness Analyst is often related to elements of risk
management. Since 2020, he has been co-lead of
the Non-Financial Risk (NFR) working group at
ifb, where he has conceived methods of managing
NFR as well as various use cases of ifb’s best practice
approach.
Daniel Schröder Managing Consultant at ifb

group, has been working in the financial industry
for over seven years, focusing on data engineering
and data integration. At ifb, he leads an internal
working group on Natural Language Processing and
Applications. He holds a degree in business math-
ematics from the Technical University of Dort-
mund with a focus on quantitative data analysis and
econometrics.
xxiv Notes on Contributors
Farah Skaf works as a Consultant at ifb group.

She focuses on strategy and architecture topics. She
has a master’s degree in administration and busi-
ness management from HEC, Morocco, as well as a
Business Manager certification from ATV seminars
in Würzbug, Germany. Her interests include agile
transformation and agile methodologies. Further-
more, she is both a certified Scrum Master and
Business Owner.
Claus Stegmann has as Co-CEO of ifb group—

an international consulting firm—acquired exten-
sive know-how over the last three decades in the
financial industry regarding finance transforma-
tion, risk management and regulatory compliance.
He is intensively engaged with the current chal-
lenges of the financial industry, which result from
strong changes to customer behavior, a changing
competitive environment and new technologies
due to digitalization. He has also co-authored
books on Stress Tests in Banks, Basel III as well as
Digitalization in the Finance Industry, and grad-
uated from Business School at the University of
Passau, Germany.
Marian Tieben holds an M.Sc. degree in

economics from the University of Cologne with
a focus on finance and started his career at ifb
group in 2019. He has mainly worked on technical
implementations of several data science tasks with
R or Python. Marian is an active member of the
internal Research & Development working groups
in the context of digitalization and has already
gained practical project experience in this field.
Notes on Contributors xxv
Dr. Johannes Waizner began his career at ifb in

2018 in a group dedicated to credit risk and is
now a Senior Consultant. His focus lies on the
technical side, where his work ranges from imple-
mentations using Access databases, to novel use
cases in the field of robotic process automation,
to, most recently, work in Hadoop systems. He
also specializes in Python integration due to the
great potential of machine learning in the realm of
credit risk models. Before ifb, he obtained his Ph.D.
in theoretical physics at the University of Cologne
modeling resonances in helical magnetic solid-state
systems.
Christoph Wünnemann has worked at ifb group

since 2006. He has supported numerous customers
in the field of regulatory reporting, in partic-
ular with the widely used reporting software
ABACUS360. As a team leader and topic manager
in the competence center Regulatory Reporting,
he promotes innovative ideas in this context.
Christoph holds an M.Sc. degree in information
systems from the University of Muenster.
List of Figures
Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests—Reduction of the

Test Portfolio Through Representative Identification
Fig. 1 Exemplary situation in the context of ABACUS360 (© ifb SE) 7
Fig. 2 Idea and goals of the test portfolio reduction through
representative identification (© ifb SE) 7
Fig. 3 Phases and steps of the approach (© ifb SE) 9
Fig. 4 Implementation of the approach in an ABACUS360
environment (© ifb SE) 9
Fig. 5 Clustering—center (© ifb SE) 12
Fig. 6 Clustering—center and edge elements (© ifb SE) 12
Fig. 7 Hard clustering and soft clustering (© ifb SE) 13
Fig. 8 Identifying the edge elements (© ifb SE) 14
Fig. 9 Assignment probabilities (© ifb SE) 15
Fig. 10 Clustering result: hard vs soft (© ifb SE) 15
Fig. 11 Introduction with adaptive method (© ifb SE) 17
Fig. 12 Cost effects/benefit analysis (© ifb SE) 18
Use Case—Nostro Accounts Match

Fig. 1 Involved parties (© ifb SE) 24
Fig. 2 Different matching situations (© ifb SE) 24
Fig. 3 Brute force search (© ifb SE) 26
Fig. 4 Levenshtein distance (© ifb SE) 26
Fig. 5 Longest common substring distance (© ifb SE) 27
xxvii
xxviii List of Figures
Fig. 6 Levenshtein distance (© ifb SE) 28

Fig. 7 Prefiltering of invoices and payments: select the top N
invoices/payments with the highest match probability (© ifb
SE) 29

Techniques
Fig. 1 Imbalanced dataset (© ifb SE) 37
Fig. 2 Variable importance (© ifb SE) 40
Fig. 3 Insured_hobbies vs. label (© ifb SE) 40
Fig. 4 Insured_education_level vs. label (© ifb SE) 41
Fig. 5 Reconstruction error vs. label (© ifb SE) 42
Fig. 6 Ensemble model (© ifb SE) 43
Fig. 7 Variable importance (© ifb SE) 43
Fig. 8 Calibration statistics (© ifb SE) 44
Fig. 9 Target operating model fraud (© ifb SE) 46
Fig. 10 Example setup of fraud detection dashboard (© ifb SE) 48
Use Case: NFR—HR Risk

Fig. 1 Connection between HR sub-risks and resignation risk
(© ifb SE) 54
Fig. 2 Example of impact graph with one resignation trigger
(© ifb SE) 56
Fig. 3 Comparison of the tree of indicators and impact graph
(© ifb SE) 56
Fig. 4 Indicator tree for resignation risk (© ifb SE) 60
Fig. 5 Example calculation for resignation score of an employee,
along an impact graph (© ifb SE) 61
Fig. 6 ROC curves for 10 trials with independent splits of the data
into training set and test set. The curves correspond to a 90:10
split ratio on the left and to a 50:50 split ratio on the right.
The blue curves were obtained for a generalized linear model
and the golden curves for a gradient boosting tree (© ifb SE) 67
Fig. 7 Relative importance of the 10 most important variables
for the predictions of the GLM (left) and the GBM
(right) (© ifb SE) 70
Fig. 8 Attrition by Overtime (yes/no) for the GLM predictions
in percent (© ifb SE) 70
Sentiment Analysis for Reputational Risk Management

Fig. 1 Approach overview (© ifb SE) 75
Fig. 2 Graphical representation of reputation over time (© ifb SE) 77
List of Figures xxix
Fig. 3 Latent Dirichlet allocation example and overview (© ifb SE) 86
Use Case: NFR—Using GraphDB for Impact Graphs

Fig. 1 Impact graph ESG (© ifb SE) 102
Fig. 2 Symbols in an impact graph (© ifb SE) 103
Fig. 3 Impact graph ESG (tool view) (© ifb SE) 104
Fig. 4 Predecessor and successor analysis of ESG graph (tool view)
(© ifb SE) 105
Fig. 5 Management aggregation of ESG graph (tool view) (© ifb SE) 107
Fig. 6 Expected values of the probabilities of occurrence—numerical
example (© ifb SE) 108
Fig. 7 Distribution of losses—numerical example (© ifb SE) 109
Fig. 8 Distribution of losses—numerical example—normally
distributed damage amounts (© ifb SE) 110
Fig. 9 Score integration (© ifb SE) 111
Fig. 10 Change activity status of vulnerabilities (© ifb SE) 112
Fig. 11 Example reporting (© ifb SE) 113
Distributed Calculation Credit Portfolio Models

Fig. 1 Overview CreditMetrics (© ifb SE) 121
Fig. 2 Parameter CreditMetrics (© ifb SE) 123
Fig. 3 Overview of the parts to be parallelized (© ifb SE) 123
Fig. 4 Natural calculation block building—Variant A (lhs)
and Variant B (rhs) (© ifb SE) 125
Fig. 5 Overview of queuing for the calculation blocks (© ifb SE) 126
Fig. 6 Hybrid approach to designing the calculation blocks (split
by runs)—Variant C (© ifb SE) 127
Fig. 7 Overview of queuing for the calculation blocks—Variant C
(© ifb SE) 128
Fig. 8 Hybrid approach to designing the calculation blocks (main
split by clients)—Variant D (© ifb SE) 129
Fig. 9 sparklyr configuration (© ifb SE) 130
Fig. 10 Executors in Spark UI: Spark.executor.cores = 2;
Spark.executor.instances = 4; Spark.executor.memory =
“1500 M” (© ifb SE) 131
Fig. 11 Executors in Spark UI: Spark.executor.cores = 2;
Spark.executor.instances = 5; Spark.executor.memory =
“1500 M” (© ifb SE) 131
Fig. 12 Calculation performance comparison (© ifb SE) 133
BSDS: Balance Sheet Dynamics Simulator

Fig. 1 ABM—essential elements (© ifb SE) 137
xxx List of Figures
Fig. 2 BSDS—hierarchy of agents in a class diagram (© ifb SE) 138

Fig. 3 BSDS—topology of directional communication links
between groups of agents (© ifb SE) 139
Fig. 4 BSDS—sequence of actions and messages of the actor model.
The diagram shows blocks of actions that are executed by all
individual members of the corresponding color-coded agent
group (© ifb SE) 141
Fig. 5 BSDS—outline of the steps performed by the matching
algorithm of the markets (© ifb SE) 142
Fig. 6 BSDS—details of the technical implementation and code
dependencies (© ifb SE) 145
Fig. 7 BSDS—Input for system initialization and output
of simulation runs (© ifb SE) 147
Fig. 8 BSDS—evolution of the total exposure in the system
in a pre-run over 500 iterations. On the left side, the number
of loans per client is limited to a maximum of 5, on the right
side to a maximum of 20 (© ifb SE) 149
Dynamic Dashboards
Fig. 1 Definition dynamic dashboarding (© ifb SE) 156
Fig. 2 Example of actual portfolio composition (© ifb SE) 161
Fig. 3 Limit usage in t 0 (© ifb SE) 162
Fig. 4 Shiny dashboard: portfolio manager dashboard (© ifb SE) 163
Fig. 5 Shiny dashboard: portfolio manager dashboard:
drop-down menus (© ifb SE) 164
Fig. 6 MicroStrategy dashboard: portfolio manager dashboard
(© ifb SE) 165
Fig. 7 Impairment projection dashboard: business year (© ifb SE) 166
Fig. 8 Impairment projection dashboard: PD modeling (© ifb SE) 167
Fig. 9 Impairment projection dashboard: PD modeling
under the GDP impact (© ifb SE) 167
Fig. 10 Impairment projection dashboard: predicted expected loss
(© ifb SE) 168
under increased LGD (© ifb SE) 168
under modified portfolio components (© ifb SE) 168
Fig. 13 Overview of integrated stress test—bank (© ifb SE) 169
Fig. 14 Integrated stress tests—architecture layers (© ifb SE) 170
Fig. 15 Overview of visuals in Power BI (© ifb SE) 172
Fig. 16 Example of dynamic dashboard—Power BI (© ifb SE) 173
Fig. 17 Power BI including R Script Editor (© ifb SE) 174
Fig. 18 Example of SAC dashboard (© ifb SE) 175
List of Figures xxxi
Fig. 19 MicroStrategy developing desktop (© ifb SE) 175

Fig. 20 Word cloud and interactive map (© ifb SE) 176
Fig. 21 R Shiny script example (© ifb SE) 177
High-Performance Applications
Fig. 1 Math functions (© Quant-X Security & Coding GmbH) 182
Fig. 2 Minimum iterations and required number of years (original
screenshot) (© Quant-X Security & Coding GmbH) 184
Fig. 3 Maximum iterations and required number of years for mask
attack (original screenshot) (© Quant-X Security & Coding
GmbH) 184
Quantum Technologies
Fig. 1 Entangle circuit (original image) (© Quant-X Security &
Coding GmbH) 210
Fig. 2 Entangle probability (original image) (© Quant-X Security &
Coding GmbH) 211
Fig. 3 Entangle sphere (original image) (© Quant-X Security &
Coding GmbH) 212
Fig. 4 Quantum gate U f (© ifb SE) 214
Fig. 5 Deutsch algorithm—quantum circuit (© ifb SE) 214
Fig. 6 Deutsch algorithm—applying the Hadamard gate (© ifb SE) 215
Categorical Quantum Theory

Fig. 1 Natural transformation (© ifb SE) 225
Processes in a Digital Environment

Fig. 1 Main components of a digital environment (© ifb SE) 234
Fig. 2 The value chain (© ifb SE) 236
Fig. 3 The different types of processes (© ifb SE) 236
Fig. 4 Four phases of process optimization (© ifb SE) 238
Fig. 5 The magic triangle (© ifb SE) 239
Fig. 6 Standalone vs. embedded BPE (© ifb SE) 241
Fig. 7 Overview of process automation solutions (© ifb SE) 243
Fig. 8 Overview—advantages and challenges of BPEs (© ifb SE) 246
Fig. 9 Overview—advantages and challenges of process mining
(© ifb SE) 248
Fig. 10 Overview—advantages and challenges of RPA (© ifb SE) 250
xxxii List of Figures
Process Mining
Fig. 1 Minimal event log analyzed by process mining (simplified
illustration) (© ifb SE) 262
Fig. 2 Steps during a process mining project (© ifb SE) 263
Fig. 3 Structure of event logs (example), own representation acc.
to (van der Aalst 2016) 265
Fig. 4 Processes in theory and practice (© ifb SE) 266
Fig. 5 Example of the effect of a general process adjustment
(© ifb SE) 268
Fig. 6 Typical tasks performed by RPA bots (© ifb SE) 269
Fig. 7 Main tasks of a process mining expert (© ifb SE) 271
Fig. 8 Technologies used to reach hyperautomation (© ifb SE) 273
Hyperautomation (Automated Decision-Making as Part of

RPA)
Fig. 1 Modern RPA (© ifb SE) 278
Fig. 2 Five-step decision automation model (© ifb SE) 279
Fig. 3 Blocks for a step-by-step implementation (© ifb SE) 279
Fig. 4 Overview of label “Value” (© ifb SE) 285
Fig. 5 Correlation matrix (© ifb SE) 285
Fig. 6 Object.Type vs. Value (© ifb SE) 286
Fig. 7 (Object.Type, Object) vs. Value (© ifb SE) 287
Fig. 8 Random forest: cross-validation result (© ifb SE) 287
Fig. 9 UiPath.Python.Activities module in the UiPath Packages
manager (© ifb SE) 288
Fig. 10 Python scope and properties in UiPath (© ifb SE) 288
Fig. 11 Architecture of the integration of Python into UiPath
(© ifb SE) 289
Fig. 12 Email regarding an invoice announcement (© ifb SE) 290
Fig. 13 Coarsest grained flow graph of the automation procedure
in UiPath (© ifb SE) 291
RPA Use Case—“IFRS 9/SPPI”

Fig. 1 Focus of IFRS 9 (© ifb SE) 297
Fig. 2 Business requirements regarding classification of financial
assets (IFRS 9) (© ifb SE) 299
Fig. 3 Challenges in practice (© ifb SE) 302
Fig. 4 General classification of use case “IFRS 9/SPPI” (© ifb SE) 304
Fig. 5 Suitability test for implementation of use case “IFRS 9/SPPI”
with RPA (© ifb SE) 305
Fig. 6 Proposed process for use case “IFRS 9/SPPI” using RPA
(© ifb SE) 306
List of Figures xxxiii
Fig. 7 Using digitalization as a driver for increased efficiency

in Accounting and Controlling (© ifb SE) 308
Open-Source Software
Fig. 1 Standard software—open source—individual development
(© ifb SE) 320
List of Tables
Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests—Reduction of the

Test Portfolio Through Representative Identification
Table 1 Selected attributes of dataset “German Credit” (© ifb SE) 14
Use Case—Nostro Accounts Match

Table 1 Data example of match = 1 (© ifb SE) 27
Table 2 Data example of match = 0 (© ifb SE) 27
Table 3 Ten cross-validation results (© ifb SE) 28
Table 4 Prediction (© ifb SE) 29
Table 5 Example of result with no matched pairs (No.Match = 0)
(© ifb SE) 30

Techniques
Table 1 Numeric attributes (©ifb SE) 38
Table 2 Categorical attributes (© ifb SE) 38
Table 3 Random forests: performance (© ifb SE) 39
Table 4 Autoencoder: performance (© ifb SE) 41
Table 5 Pros and cons of supervised and unsupervised learning
(© ifb SE) 42
Table 6 Combined model: performance (© ifb SE) 43
xxxv
xxxvi List of Tables
Use Case: NFR—HR Risk

Table 1 Overview of the 28 employee features of the example dataset
that can be utilized as possible predictors for the binary
classification of the attrition tendency (© ifb SE) 66
Table 2 Summary of different model families (and their ensembles)
that were compared with the AutoML function of the h2o R
package. The AUC measure is highlighted as the performance
metric that was used to rank the models (© ifb SE) 68

Table 1 Example calculation of expected mean sentiment for three
documents (© ifb SE) 76
Table 2 Token level results of spaCy’s NLP pipeline showing
lemmatization and POS tagging (© ifb SE) 80
Table 3 Span level results of spaCy’s NLP pipeline showing results
of named-entity recognition (© ifb SE) 81
Table 4 Ten most similar word vectors by cosine
similarity with respect to search phrase
“european_central_bank|ORG” (© ifb SE) 81
Table 5 Ten most similar word vectors by cosine similarity
with respect to search phrase “ecb|ORG” (© ifb SE) 82
Table 6 Ten most similar word vectors by Levenshtein similarity
with respect to search phrase “european_central_bank”
(© ifb SE) 82
Table 7 Ten most similar word vectors by Levenshtein similarity
with respect to search phrase “ecb” (© ifb SE) 82
Table 8 Special mapping rules to be applied in preprocessing (© ifb
SE) 83
Table 9 Special mapping rules for large amounts of money (© ifb SE) 83
Table 10 Examples of sentence classifications (© ifb SE) 93

Table 1 Comparison between SQL and Cypher from (Neo4J, n.d.)
(© ifb SE) 104

Table 1 CPU usage (© ifb SE) 132
Table 2 Comparison of splitting variants (© ifb SE) 133

Table 1 BSDS model parameters (© ifb SE) 144
List of Tables xxxvii
Table 2 BSDS results for the efficiency of the matching algorithm

(gold columns) at different combinations of parameters (blue
columns). The indicators were averaged in the steady states
that were reached after 250 iterations (© ifb SE) 149
Dynamic Dashboards
Table 1 Example limit structure (© ifb SE) 161
Table 2 Limit usage in t 0 (© ifb SE) 162
Table 3 Pros and cons of tools (© ifb SE) 171
Processes in a Digital Environment

Table 1 Characteristics of heavyweight and lightweight IT (© ifb SE) 252
Table 2 Categorization of process automation technologies (© ifb SE) 252
Hyperautomation (Automated Decision-Making as Part of

RPA)
Table 1 Head of the dataset (© ifb SE) 284
List of Equations

Equation 1: Expected topic-word vector representation 87
Equation 2: Expected document-word vector representation 87
Equation 3: Most suitable vector 87
Equation 4: Probabilistic measure of relevance 88

Equation 1: Path probability—risk event 1 to financial situation 108
Equation 2: Path probability—risk event 1 to cash flows 108

Equation 1: Factor-loadings (©ifb SE) 122
Equation 2: One-factor variant (©ifb SE) 122

Equation 1: Average number of actual loan agreements 143
Equation 2: Ratio matched loan amounts 143
Equation 3: Averaged incongruity of target and actual rating
structures 143
Post-quantum Secure Cryptographic Algorithms

Equation 1: Generator matrix 193
xxxix
xl List of Equations
Equation 2: Affine transformation 1 196

Equation 3: Affine transformation 2 196
Equation 4: Quadratic map 196
Quantum Technologies
Equation 1: Vector of complex numbers 206
Equation 2: Canonical basis 206
Equation 3: Representation of a qubit 207
Equation 4: Definition tensor product 207
Equation 5: Two-qubit system 207
Equation 6: n-qubit state space 208
Equation 7: Quantum gate 208
Equation 8: Examples of quantum gates (Pauli matrices) 208
Equation 9: Unitary group 209
Equation 10: Pauli group 209
Equation 11: Clifford group 209
Equation 12: Generic state as a vector 210
Equation 13: Hadamard (H) gate 210
Equation 14: Controlled NOT gate 210
Equation 15: Application Hadamard gate and CNOT to q3 211
Equation 16: Actual distribution 211
Equation 17: Deutsch’s algorithm functions 213
Equation 18: Equivalence 1 213
Equation 19: Equivalence 2 213
Equation 20: Tensor product of qubits 214
Equation 21: Definition of U f 214
Equation 22: Deutsch algorithm—applying U f 215
Equation 23: Top qubit 215
Equation 24: Applying a Hadamard gate to the top qubit 215
Equation 25: Final state measure—f is constant 215
Equation 26: Final state measure—f is balanced 215
Categorical Quantum Theory

Equation 1: Category identity 222
Equation 2: Category source 222
Equation 3: Category target 222
Equation 4: Category composition 222
Equation 5: Source and target of the identity 223
Equation 6: Left / Right identity 223
Equation 7: Associativity 223
Equation 8: Source and target 223
Equation 9: Functor identity 224
List of Equations xli
Equation 10: Functor−Source/target commutativity 224

Equation 11: Functor is a category morphism 224
Equation 12: Natural transformation 224
Equation 13: Commutativity 225
Equation 14: Tensor product 225
Equation 15: Source /Target of tensor product 226
Equation 16: Middle four exchange 226
Equation 17: Identity of tensor product 226
Equation 18: n - gubit gates 226
Equation 19: Scalars 227
Equation 20: Post - selection 227
Equation 21: Preparation 227
Equation 22: Circuit evaluation 227
Equation 23: eval 227
Equation 24: NN - Sum 228
Equation 25: NN−Activation 228
Use Cases
Successful digitalization happens when urgent customer demands and busi-

ness needs are met by leveraging data and technology. As soon as this is
agreed, the next crucial point to overcome is to convince the organiza-
tion, i.e., employees, that this would work. One might convince the C-level
decision-makers, and sometimes they do understand the potential. To make
a difference, it is equally important to convince the people on the ground
because they must perform the transformation.
One can start top-down and invest in technology, infrastructure and
building up the workforce with data scientists. The real driver for funda-
mental changes in culture and in the way things are done is an inspiration
through successful examples. This inspiration is far more positive when it
serves satisfied customers and optimized and better internal departments.
Long-term investment in these skills and infrastructure is important and
must be executed at a certain point in the journey, but it is even more impor-
tant to have the support of the whole organization (including the people on
the ground). Understanding the technology in depth and implementing the
infrastructure is more of an IT task. Infrastructure only comes to life and the
technology is only leveraged with the right business challenge—even more if
the business challenge can be divided into different and smaller use cases. A
convincing case is proven in shorter time and the investment and involvement
are achieved much easier because quick gains are possible.
In some cases, the driver has an IT background, but, due to mixed expe-
riences in the past, IT does not always have positive connotations in the
business department. Anyone who wants to bring about digital transforma-
tion must convince the organization that IT and projects are different this
2 Use Cases
time. Agile projects (or even agile organizations) have the potential to speed
up the process of getting what is really needed (see Part V in the first volume
of this book series).
The first chapter in this part (Liermann et al. “Use Case—Optimization
of Regression Tests—Reduction of the Test Portfolio Through Represen-
tative Identification” 2021) presents a common use case in changing the
bank/insurance company1 as well as running the bank/insurance company.
Regression tests are usually carried out when a new release of a standard
software or a minor change in the data mapping is deployed. The classical
regression test aims to ensure the stability of the system and environ-
ment, so it is primarily used in RtB/RtI.2 In the CtB/CtI3 context (while
implementing new software and functionalities), when a certain quality is
established, the regression test can ensure that this quality remains stable,
while still making major changes at different ends of the whole context. The
use case presents an approach to reduce the number of transactions tested
on a smaller set (representatives) aiming to cover all functions, so that a
comprehensive test can be carried out with a significantly smaller dataset.
The next chapter (Liermann et al. “Use Case—Nostro Accounts Match”
2021) illustrates an improvement of the process of nostro account matching
that is partially still carried out manually. The approach goes beyond an exact
string match and works with similarity measures like Levenshtein distance
(LSD) and longest common substring distance (LCS distance).
The third chapter (Enzinger and Li 2021) provides a machine-learning-
driven solution to fraud identification in the insurance claims process. The
chapter delivers a model calibrated to car insurance data in which the model
selection and calibration process are documented. All components (including
a dashboard) are developed by using open-source tools.
The fourth chapter of the part is (Schmüser et al. 2021). The chapter
explores a subtopic of the nonfinancial risk universe: the HR risk. The chapter
introduces HR risk as a part of the nonfinancial risk and focuses on resigna-
tion risk as a specific HR risk. As a practical example, a model using machine
learning for estimating the probability of a resignation is presented.
The next chapter is (Schröder and Tieben 2021). Another risk category in
nonfinancial risk is reputation risk. The chapter uses the methods of senti-
ment analysis to estimate the reputation risk of an institute. Different types
of methods are presented spanning from dictionary-based approaches up
to natural language processing (NLP). The subjects discussed include NLP
1 Thinking of projects and establishing new things or renewing existing ones (CTB/CTI).
2 Run the Bank/Run the Insurance.
3 Change the Bank/Change the Insurance.
Use Cases 3
preprocessing like word embedding and named entity recognition (NER) as

well as topic modeling.
The last chapter (Liermann and Tieben “Use Case—NFR—Using
GraphDB for Impact Graphs” 2021) covers another important subject of
nonfinancial risk: the connectedness of nonfinancial risk categories across the
nonfinancial risks. The impact graph is introduced as a tool to document
and analyze the connectedness of risk events. The underlying technology
implementing the impact graphs is GraphDB. The toolset developed enables
the organization to implement a holistic approach to communicating and
reporting the connected risks in nonfinancial risk.
Literature
Enzinger, Philipp, and Sangmeng Li. 2021. “Fraud Detection Using Machine
Learning Techniques.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume
Liermann, Volker, and Marian Tieben. 2021. “Use Case—NFR—Using GraphDB
for Impact Graphs.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume
Liermann, Volker, Sangmeng Li, and Christoph Wünnemann. 2021. “Use Case—
Representative Identification.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance,
Volume II —Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and
Claus Stegmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Liermann, Volker, Sangmeng Li, and Johannes Waizner. 2021. “Use Case—Nostro
Accounts Match.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II—
Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and Claus
Schmüser, Arne, Farah Skaf, and Harro Dittmar. 2021. “Use Case—NFR—HR
Risk.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume II—Digitalization
and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and Claus Stegmann. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schröder, Daniel, and Marian Tieben. 2021. “Sentiment Analysis for Reputational
Risk Management.” In The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume
II —Digitalization and Machine Learning, edited by Volker Liermann and Claus
Use Case: Optimization of Regression
Tests—Reduction of the Test Portfolio
Through Representative Identification
Volker Liermann , Sangmeng Li,
and Christoph Wünnemann
1 Introduction
The situation for traditional banks is critical. On the revenue side, fintech
companies and, more and more, Big Tech (GAFAM1 and BATX2 ) are putting
pressure on traditional banks. Therefore, all initiatives helping to cut costs are
welcome.
The complexity of processes and systems has risen continuously. A core
task of bank management is now to transform data from the core banking
system into valuable and interpretable key figures to enable decision-makers
(especially in senior management) to make the right call.
1 Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft, also named the Big Five or the Tech Giants.
Before Microsoft joined the club the GAFA were often referred to as Big Four, The Four Horsemen.
2 Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi are the biggest tech firms in China mirroring the GAFAM.
V. Liermann (B) · S. Li · C. Wünnemann

ifb SE, Grünwald, Germany
e-mail: Volker.Liermann@ifb-group.com
S. Li
e-mail: Sangmeng.Li@ifb-group.com
C. Wünnemann
e-mail: Christoph.Wuennemann@ifb-group.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 5

Switzerland AG 2021
V. Liermann and C. Stegmann (eds.), The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance,
Volume II, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78829-2_1
6 V. Liermann et al.
Bank management continuously needs to adjust and reinforce the usability

of these figures. The driver of these changes could be internal (as continuous
improvement) and external (new regulatory requirements). The continuous
change process needs to be implemented in the systems.
Due to this continuous change situation, the importance of testing is
obvious. It is important to distinguish between two aspects of testing: (A)
testing new functionalities and (B) testing existing functionalities (often
referred to as regression tests). Even though the nature of the two aspects
is similar, there are some significant differences. In case (A), the expected
results and functionalities must be defined by the test management. In (B),
the expected results and mechanics already exist. They only need to be tested
if they are still operating and if no ricochet is introduced by changes in other
parts of the system or infrastructure.
In the test context, the revaluation of a full portfolio is—given a certain
complexity of the calculation/transformation—a process that consumes a
great deal of time, disk space, and calculation resources. Often the portfolios
consist of structurally similar transactions that follow structurally comparable
patterns. This phenomenon offers the opportunity to significantly reduce the
number of considered transactions while simultaneously keeping the test data
quality at a high and appropriate level.
1.1 Initial Situation—By Example
To illustrate the potential for cost cutting, we analyze a fictional but specific
case. The numbers can easily be mapped to a real-world example. The
figures presented in the chapter are taken from the context of the regulatory
reporting software ABACUS3603 but can be applied to any other analytical
software in any other business context. In the following, the term analyt-
ical software system is used generally; ABACUS is only mentioned explicitly
when it comes to ABACUS specifics.
Figure 1 sums up the requirements for the use case and the potential cost
reduction in terms of hard disk memory and computational power.
1.2 General Idea
In the upper part of Fig. 2, we see the idea and the goals of the approach.
Regression tests can be optimized if representative transactions of the entire
3 Vendor: BearingPoint Software Solutions GmbH.

Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests … 7
Specific example: For the

Each of these changes is All test runs are currently test of a batch chain version,
The bank regularly uses regression tests to
usually tested separately, made with the complete and up to 5 runs are currently
check the effects of various types of changes
otherwise the effects cannot very large por olio of the made, which last up to a
to and around the ABACUS system
be clearly assigned ins tute week and occupy almost 1
TeraByte of memory.
1 TeraByte
memory
Changes to the data delivery

Long running mes of at least one
day / run (25 h - 30 h)
Changes to ABACUS (Patches / Ho ixes / ...)
Changes to the parameteriza on Storage space usage per run 450 -

530 GB (or 216 - 220 GB compressed)
Changes to batch chains / processing sequences
Changes to addi ve load files / workarounds

High analysis costs
Fig. 1 Exemplary situation in the context of ABACUS360 (© ifb SE)
Find a reduced set of transac ons Test por olio reduc on:
represen ng the whole por olio Lower hardware costs and
automa cally by a classifica on faster test process.
algorithm
Classifica on algorithm:
Comprehensive por olio
representa on without
Idea Goals manual effort
Mass-transac on Technical tests

Implementa on
business Applica on
focus Business tests
(Acceptance tests)
Fig. 2 Idea and goals of the test portfolio reduction through representative
identification (© ifb SE)
portfolio (representatives) are compiled in a reduced test portfolio, which

then enables a statement to be delivered about the effects on the entire
portfolio (analogous to the extrapolations for elections). Since maintaining
a representative test portfolio manually is very extensive and will not neces-
sarily lead to a comprehensive representation of the full portfolio, it should
be done automatically by classification algorithms in the context of machine
learning (ML).
The test portfolio reduction has a variety of benefits. Firstly, the running
times can be significantly reduced and, therefore, the test procedure as a
whole is completed earlier. Secondly, significantly less storage space is used,
also in the archive. Thirdly, the reduced computational power can reduce
server requirements. In a cloud- and usage-based IT environment the costs are
affected directly. In a non-usage-based IT environment, at least the machine
availability and flexibility improve.
The application of classification algorithms for portfolio reduction poten-
tially leads to a better portfolio representation without manual efforts.
The targeted bank or financial institution should have a mass transaction
business. A large retail portfolio (e.g., credit cards) of a bank could be signif-
icantly reduced. All other types of business are further tested with all data.
The reduced portfolio represents a supplement that can be used if suitable.
The reduced portfolio can be definitely used for technical tests, e.g.,
batch chains, as well as for business tests, e.g., when trying out parameters,
additive load files, processing sequences, etc. If acknowledged by business
representatives, it can also be taken as the basis for acceptance tests.4
1.3 Structure of the Article
The chapter is organized into the following sections: Firstly, the approach
used is explained. Secondly, the model performance is discussed on a freely
available dataset. Thirdly, the practical implementation aspects and challenges
are examined. Finally, the essential cornerstones of the approach are summed
up.
2 Phases in the Approach

The approach reducing the full portfolio to a meaningful set of representatives
consists of five main steps which can be assigned to three phases. These steps
and phases are shown in Fig. 3.
In the model phase the model is developed and trained with a certain set
of training data. In the apply phase the trained model is applied to the “real”
business. The final validation phase is a kind of feedback loop, where the
classification made is challenged by an automated error analysis.
In the following sections, the corresponding steps of the phases are
explained in detail and are illustrated in Fig. 4 in the context of ABACUS360.
4 For further discussions on this see Chapter 4.

Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests … 9
Model Apply Validate
1 2 Configure
3 Determine
4 Apply
5 Op mize
and train and extract business methods classifica on
Select por olio
classifica on representa ves to the reduced algorithm by
algorithm (reduced por olio) por olio backtes ng
Fig. 3 Phases and steps of the approach (© ifb SE)
1 2 Configure
3 Determine
4 Apply
5 Op mize
and train representa ves and business methods classifica on
Select por olio
classifica on select reduced test to the reduced algorithm by
algorithm por olio por olio backtes ng
1 2 3
ABACUS
ABACUS
input files
Represen- Test data export Reduced
Por olio Data ta ves por olio
ABACUS Input data

database Feature Model Label
4 Reduced por olio 5

Error
messages Error messages
Reduced Incorrect
ABACUS transac ons
Data
por olio Incorrect
transac ons
Results Feature Modell Label
Fig. 4 Implementation of the approach in an ABACUS360 environment (© ifb SE)
2.1 Step I: Select Portfolio
The first phase identifies and selects the portfolio that should be used for the
training of the model. Retail portfolios with a significant number of transac-
tions give good leverage when applying and reducing the computational time
and the storage consumption. In addition, large numbers of transactions in
a retail portfolio offer a good and valid starting point for the classification
models.
To improve the stability and the explanatory power of the classification,
the portfolio should not only be a one-day snapshot. The model training with
multiple portfolio stages over time avoids overfitting to the specific one-day
situation in the portfolio.
As illustrated in Fig. 4, in an ABACUS360 environment portfolio selection

can be set up on the basis of the ABACUS360 input data files or alternatively
directly on the ABACUS360 database.
2.2 Step II: Configure and Train Classification

Algorithm
In the training phase, all transactions of the portfolio (maybe on different

dates) will be passed on to the classification model. One of the most impor-
tant parameters is the number of classes and the corresponding size of the
classes (the number of transactions associated with the class). If the number
of classes is too small, the representative will not reflect the variety of struc-
tures, which can lead to errors. On the other hand, if the number of classes
is too big and the number of transactions associated with the class is small,
the leverage for resource reduction will be small.
2.3 Step III: Determine Representatives and Select

Reduced Test Portfolio
Once the model is trained, it is used to associate all transactions of the “real”
business with one class and one or more representatives are chosen for each
class. The list of representatives is then used to select the related datasets.
Therefore, not only the transactions themselves have to be selected but every
related entity, such as business partners, ratings, cash flows, etc., as well. This
total quantity of data forms the reduced test portfolio.
The selection might be put either on the input data layer of the analytical
software system or alternatively already on the database which is used as the
data basis for the population of input data into the system (e.g., an underlying
data warehouse).
As illustrated in Fig. 4, in ABACUS360 there is already a test data export
functionality available which can be used for this. The functionality is able to
extract all related data to certain transaction or partner IDs.
2.4 Step IV: Apply Business Methods to the Reduced

Test Portfolio
The data of the reduced test portfolio is now passed on to the (regulatory)
methods and is monitored in terms of errors generated by the system and
unexpected deviations from a reference value (e.g., a result of a former run,
before any changes in customizing or coding).
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
— E da che cosa lo arguite?
— Hai udito nessun colpo di fucile tu?
— No, dottore.
— Credi tu che don Raffaele sia uomo da lasciar tacere il fucile per
sette od otto ore?
— Lui!... Un cacciatore famoso!... No, dottore.
— Allora vuol dire che noi siamo tanto lontani da non poter più udire
le fucilate che si sparano sulle rive del Cassanare.
— Diamine!... Mi mettete indosso delle inquietudini. Che ora
abbiamo?
— Sono le due di già.
— Mangiamo un boccone e poi mettiamoci in marcia.
— Credo che sia la cosa migliore. Se questa sera non ritroviamo i
compagni, passeremo una brutta notte, Alonzo.
— Minaccia forse qualche uragano?
— No, ma avremo da fare coi coguari e coi giaguari.
— Bah!... Contro quelli ci difenderemo. Devo scuoiare il formichiere?
— Perderemmo un tempo prezioso. Contentiamoci delle provviste
che abbiamo portate con noi.
— Sia pure. Le costolette l’assaggeremo questa sera.
Si assisero all’ombra della mauritia e sbarazzarono in fretta le loro
tasche delle provviste che avevano portate, poi dissetatisi in un
piccolo stagno si rimisero animatamente in cammino, cercando di
dirigersi verso il sud. Disgraziatamente quell’immensa foresta era
così fitta, che non permetteva ai due cacciatori di scorgere il sole.
Per di più Alonzo, che si era caricato del formichiere, non poteva
affrettare il passo.
Camminarono parecchie ore, facendo solamente delle brevi fermate,
ma senza poter scoprire l’Orenoco. Invano di tratto in tratto
s’arrestavano per tendere gli orecchi, sperando di udire qualche
lontana fucilata od il muggito delle acque del fiume gigante: il
silenzio non era rotto che dal cicaleccio scordato dei pappagalli e
dalle grida delle scimmie. Già cominciavano ad addensarsi le
tenebre sotto i grandi alberi e nulla ancora avevano scoperto. Le loro
inquietudini crescevano di momento in momento.
— Ci siamo smarriti, — disse il dottore, arrestandosi. — È meglio
che ci accampiamo qui e che aspettiamo l’alba di domani. Quale
imprudenza non portare con noi una bussola!
— E quali angoscie procureremo a Raffaele! — disse Alonzo. — Non
vedendoci ritornare crederà che ci sia toccata qualche disgrazia.
— Proviamo a fare dei segnali.
Alzò il fucile più che potè e lo scaricò. La fragorosa detonazione si
ripercosse sotto le oscure boscaglie, facendo tacere di colpo gli
ultimi cicalecci dei pappagalli, ma nessuna detonazione rispose.
Alonzo scaricò la sua, poi ascoltarono con profondo raccoglimento.
Poco dopo parve a loro di udire un lontano sparo.
— Raffaele ha risposto! — esclamò Alonzo.
— Purchè non sia stato il lontano eco del grido di qualche fiera, —
disse il dottore.
— Ripeterò il segnale.
Ricaricò il fucile e tornò a scaricarlo, ma questa volta invano tesero
gli orecchi.
— Fermiamoci qui, — disse il dottore. — Se don Raffaele ci ha
risposto, ci troverà. Gl’indiani sono famosi nel cercare le orme e non
si smarriscono mai nelle selve.
— Ma, — disse il giovanotto alzando il capo, — che foresta è
questa?
— Perchè?
— Non vedete che tutti questi alberi sono moribondi?
Il dottore alzò a sua volta il capo e agli ultimi bagliori del crepuscolo
vide infatti che tutte le palme del bosco avevano le lunghe foglie
pendenti e già quasi avvizzite.
— Ah! Comprendo, — disse poi.
— Ed io non comprendo nulla, dottore.
— Non vedi che tutti i tronchi di queste palme sono stretti fra piante
rampicanti?
— Sì, dottore.
— Ebbene, quelle piante si chiamano fichi maledetti. Sono terribili
parassiti, che dapprima si alzano sottili come radici e innocui, ma
poi, allacciandosi fra di loro, finiscono col soffocare le piante,
talmente ne stringono i tronchi. Fra qualche mese tutti questi alberi
saranno morti.
— I fichi maledetti sono adunque il simbolo vivente dell’ingratitudine.
— Precisamente, Alonzo.
— Lasciamo là i fichi e scuoiamo il formichiere. Ceneremo con delle
deliziose costolette, ma disgraziatamente non abbiamo nemmeno un
pezzetto di pane.
— Lo troveremo.
— Dove?...
— Vedrai! Non mi farò attendere molto.
Approfittando della poca luce che ancora si proiettava sotto la
foresta, il dottore s’appressò ad un albero che aveva poco prima
notato. Era una specie di palmizio col tronco liscio ma in forma di
fuso e che si appoggiava, coll’estremità inferiore, su parecchie radici
uscenti da terra. In alto portava un bellissimo ciuffo di grandi foglie
d’un verde cupo.
Non portava nè frutta nè fiori, ma in mezzo al ciuffo si vedeva uscire
un germoglio lungo circa ottanta centimetri e più grosso del fusto
dell’albero.
Il dottore girò e rigirò attorno al palmizio, poi si aggrappò ai fichi
maledetti che formavano una vera rete e s’innalzò con un’agilità
sorprendente borbottando.
Giunto in cima all’albero si cacciò in mezzo al ciuffo e a colpi di
coltello recise il lungo germoglio, lasciandolo precipitare a terra.
Ridiscese con precauzione, raccolse quello strano fusto che era
rivestito di nove foglie d’un verde tenero e lo portò all’accampamento
mostrandolo trionfalmente ad Alonzo, il quale aveva già acceso un
gran fuoco e trinciato l’orso formichiere.
— Cosa portate? — chiese Alonzo, sorpreso. — Un pezzo d’albero?
— Il pane, — rispose il dottore, sorridendo.
— Questo è pane?
— Ora lo vedrai. Sappi innanzi a tutto che questo non è un pezzo
d’albero, ma il frutto del cavolo palmizio. Hai mai udito parlare di
quest’albero?
— Sì, vagamente.
— Allora guarda.
Il dottore prese il coltello, recise le foglie, poi la corteccia che era
dura assai e mostrò al giovanotto stupito una specie di pignolo lungo
un buon braccio, liscio come l’avorio e bianco. Ne tagliò un pezzo e
lo porse al compagno che lo assaggiò.
— Ebbene? — chiese il dottore.
— Eccellente! — esclamò Alonzo. — Ha il gusto delle mandorle.
— Può surrogare il pane?
— È più delizioso, dottore. Ne hanno parecchi di questi pani i cavoli
palmizi?
— No, uno solo e presto non ne avranno più nemmen uno.
— Perchè, dottore?
— Perchè questi pani si cercano attivamente dagli indiani e siccome
le piante dopo una simile mutilazione non possono vivere, ben
presto finiranno collo sparire. Oramai non si trovano più che nelle
grandi foreste.
In quell’istante due urla rauche che sembravano due potenti miagolii,
infinitamente più acuti di quelli che emettono i gatti, si fecero udire in
mezzo alla tenebrosa foresta.
Il dottore sussultò.
— Una belva? — chiese Alonzo, raccogliendo prontamente la
carabina.
— Un giaguaro che si mette in cerca di preda, — disse il dottore. —
All’alba ed al tramonto quelle terribili belve emettono queste due
grida.
— Deve essere però lontano.
— Lo spero, ma non tarderà a scoprirci.
— Approfittiamo della sua lontananza per cenare, dottore.
— Sarà meglio infatti affrontarlo col ventre pieno.
Levarono dal fuoco le costolette del formichiere, tagliarono il cavolo
e si misero a cenare con molto appetito, malgrado che le loro
inquietudini crescessero ad ogni istante, non già perchè avessero
paura della fiera, ma perchè pensavano ai loro compagni che li
attendevano senza dubbio in preda a chissà quali angoscie.
Passò mezz’ora, poi mentre si sdraiavano accanto al fuoco fumando
l’ultima loro sigaretta, udirono ancora il miagolio del giaguaro, ma
questa volta era assai più vicino.
La fiera li aveva fiutati o forse aveva sentito l’odore dell’arrosto e
s’appressava strisciando attraverso la tenebrosa foresta.
— Non vuole lasciarci dormire in pace, — disse il dottore. —
Bisognerà sbarazzarsi di questo pericoloso vicino.
— Che ci assalga?
— Non ne dubito. I giaguari di notte non temono l’uomo e talvolta
nemmeno di giorno.
— Sono adunque molto audaci?
— Figurati che una volta un giaguaro osò penetrare perfino in una
chiesa, in quella del Convento di San Francesco di Santa Fè.
— Uccidendo i fedeli?
— No, i monaci. L’inondazione lo aveva scacciato dalle isolette del
Rio Bravo ed il feroce carnivoro avendo approdato alla sponda
aveva superato l’orto dei monaci e s’era rifugiato nella sagrestia. Un
monaco dopo d’aver detto le sue orazioni, stava per entrare nella
sagrestia, quando il giaguaro gli fu addosso e lo sbranò. Al grido
straziante emesso dal disgraziato, accorse dapprima un guardiano
del convento e cadde sotto gli artigli della fiera, poi un monaco e
subì la egual sorte, quindi un indiano e fu parimenti ucciso.
— Un vero massacro; e non fu ucciso?
— Sì, Alonzo. Un certo Frondo, accortosi della presenza della belva,
chiuse la sagrestia a catenaccio poi chiamò i monaci ed a colpi di
fucile uccisero il divoratore d’uomini....
— Zitto!... Eccolo!...
Un rom-rom formidabile si era udito a trenta o quaranta passi di
distanza. Pareva che un gatto enorme facesse le fusa.
Alonzo ed il dottore si erano alzati colle carabine in mano. Scorsero
subito due occhi verdastri, contratti in forma d’un i brillare sotto un
folto cespuglio, a breve distanza.
— Orsù, coraggio Alonzo, — disse il dottore.
— Il mio braccio non trema, — rispose il giovanotto con voce
tranquilla.
— Miriamo con calma.
Abbassarono lentamente i fucili mirando quei due occhi che
mandavano strani bagliori e lasciarono partire simultaneamente i
colpi.
Alle due detonazioni tenne dietro un ruggito formidabile, poi,
attraverso al fumo, si vide balzare la belva che con due salti aveva
varcata la distanza. Con uno sforzo disperato tentò di aggrapparsi
ad Alonzo, ma questi aveva rapidamente impugnata la carabina per
la canna.
Il pesante calcio dell’arma scese sul cranio della belva, la quale
stramazzò a terra senza più muoversi.
— Bravo, giovanotto, — esclamò il dottore, che aveva raccolto un
tizzone acceso.
— Che sia proprio morto?
— Lo credo bene.
Si curvarono sulla fiera e la esaminarono. Aveva la testa spaccata e
le spalle imbrattate di sangue: le due palle l’avevano colpita a destra
ed a sinistra del collo.
Quel giaguaro era uno dei più grossi, poichè era lungo quasi due
metri dall’estremità del muso alla radice della coda e alto quanto una
tigre indiana.
La sua pelle era splendida, macchiata irregolarmente come quella
delle pantere, ma a chiazze color di rosa con un punto nero in
mezzo, mentre il fondo del pelame era d’un color fulvo vivo sopra e
bianco sotto.
— Bell’animale! — esclamò Alonzo. Si direbbe che non la cede alle
tigri dell’India e della Malesia.
— Ti assicuro che non è nè meno feroce, nè meno robusto, nè meno
audace delle tigri. Guarda che collo!... È grosso come quello d’un
giovane toro.
— È vero, dottore, che i giaguari sono capaci di uccidere un bue e di
trascinarlo lontano?
— Sì, Alonzo, ma non si contentano d’uno. Quando piombano fra le
immense mandrie che popolano le praterie della pampa argentina,
fanno delle vere stragi, con un solo colpo di zampa spezzano alle
vittime la colonna vertebrale.
— È pur vero che si arrampicano sugli alberi?
— Sì, e con molta facilità, e danno la caccia alle scimmie, che di....
Un altro miagolìo potente, echeggiato in mezzo alla foresta, gli tagliò
la parola.
— Un altro giaguaro! — esclamò.
— Al diavolo anche le fiere, — disse Alonzo. — Sloggiamo, dottore;
questa foresta n’è piena.
— Dove vuoi andare?
— Cercare un albero che ci ricoveri. Ne ho abbastanza dei giaguari.
— Andiamocene, Alonzo. Due volte non si esce vivi dalle ugne di
quelle fiere.
XIII.
I succhiatori di sangue.
I due cacciatori, raccolte le armi e alcune bistecche di formichiere,

s’affrettarono ad abbandonare quel luogo che diventava ormai
malsicuro, essendosi spento il fuoco per mancanza di legna secca.
L’urlo del secondo giaguaro si era udito verso un gruppo enorme di
mauritie. Volsero le spalle e fuggirono in direzione opposta,
cercando di non incespicare contro i tronchi degli alberi atterrati, i
cespugli e le liane le quali formavano, talvolta, delle reti inestricabili.
Quantunque l’oscurità fosse molto profonda, poterono avanzarsi in
quella nuova direzione per più di un’ora, senza incontrare nessun
altro animale. Stavano per arrestarsi onde cercare un albero adatto
per passarvi la notte, quando credettero di udire confusamente un
sordo fragore.
— Ascolta, Alonzo, — disse il dottore.
— È il fiume! — esclamò il giovinotto, che si era curvato verso terra.
— Ne sei certo?
— No.... non m’inganno.
— Si ringrazii Iddio! Accorriamo!
I due cacciatori si misero a correre attraverso la foresta in preda ad
una viva ansietà, avvicinandosi sempre più a quel fragore che
diventava di minuto in minuto più distinto.
— Presto! presto! — ripeteva il dottore, che faceva sforzi
straordinarii per tenere dietro ad Alonzo. — Fra breve saremo a
bordo della scialuppa.
Dieci minuti dopo sfondavano una triplice linea di macumucù e
giungevano sulle sponde dell’Orenoco.
— Urrah! — gridò Alonzo.
— Vedi la scialuppa? — chiese il dottore con voce rotta.
— Sì, la vedo a trecento passi da noi.
— Don Raffaele! don Raffaele!
Nessuno rispose alla tuonante chiamata del dottore.
— Che dormano? — si chiese. — Scarica il tuo fucile, Alonzo.
Il giovanotto ubbidì. Lo sparo si ripercosse nei boschi della sponda
opposta ed in quelli che s’allungavano verso la foce del Cassanare,
ma nessuna detonazione rispose.
— Cosa vuol dir ciò? — mormorò il dottore, impallidendo.
— Forse saranno nei boschi in cerca di noi, — disse Alonzo.
— Possa esser vero: affrettiamoci.
Ripartirono con passo rapido seguendo la sponda del grande fiume,
avvicinandosi alla scialuppa che si cullava nell’istesso posto ove
l’avevano lasciata la sera precedente.
Stavano per raggiungerla, quando videro due grossi volatili che
rassomigliavano a giganteschi pipistrelli, alzarsi presso il tronco
d’una simaruba e volarsene via emettendo due strida di spavento.
— Cosa sono? — chiese Alonzo.
— Due vampiri, — rispose il dottore, facendo un gesto di
ripugnanza, — due luridi succhiatori di sangue.
— Ma.... non vedete nulla presso quella simaruba?
— Cosa vedi?
— Due forme oscure.
— Forse degli animali dissanguati dai due vampiri?
— Dottore.... no.... non sono due animali, — balbettò Alonzo.
— Cosa vuoi dire? — chiese Velasco.
— Sono due uomini!...
— Gran Dio!...
Velasco si era precipitato ai piedi del simaruba. Un grido d’orrore gli
uscì dal petto.
Don Raffaele e l’indiano giacevano appoggiati contro il tronco
dell’albero, come se dormissero, ma entrambi erano imbrattati di
sangue, il quale colava lentamente dalle loro tempie.
— Una torcia, Alonzo!... — gridò il dottore.
Il giovanotto con un balzo si gettò nella scialuppa, frugò rapidamente
in una cassa, trasse una candela, l’accese e si precipitò versò il
dottore.
— Sono stati assassinati? — gridò con voce rauca.
— No, — disse Velasco che aveva acquistato rapidamente il suo
sangue freddo. — Sono stati dissanguati dai vampiri che abbiamo
veduti volare via.
— E sono morti?
— No, ma svenuti per la perdita di sangue.
— Non corrono pericolo alcuno?
— Rimarranno deboli per alcuni giorni, ma nulla di più. Se
tardavamo a giungere però, poteva a loro toccare di peggio.
Attendimi un istante.
Il dottore si recò nella scialuppa, prese una piccola farmacia portatile
ed estratta una fiala di essenza fortissima, la fece fiutare
replicatamente a don Raffaele e all’indiano.
Dopo alcuni istanti, entrambi riaprivano gli occhi.
— Dove sono? — chiese il piantatore con voce debole.
— Fra i vostri compagni, — rispose il dottore.
— Ma.... cos’è accaduto?... Mi sento debole.... assai debole.
— I vampiri vi hanno dissanguato.
— Ah! i malefici volatili, — mormorò don Raffaele, rabbrividendo. —
Ed Alonzo?
— Eccomi, cugino.
— Siete tornati.... tardi.
— Ci siamo smarriti nella foresta, Raffaele.
— Quante.... inquietudini. E.... gl’indiani?...
— Non li abbiamo veduti, — disse Velasco. — E voi?
— Le traccie.... le traccie....
Non potè dire di più. Ricadde pesantemente a terra e si assopì.
L’indiano già russava sonoramente.
— Lasciamoli riposare tranquilli, — disse il dottore. — Un riposo
prolungato farà bene a loro.
— Ma non v’è proprio alcun pericolo?
— No, Alonzo, te l’ho già detto.
— Ma cosa sono questi vampiri?
— Enormi pipistrelli che succhiano il sangue agli uomini ed agli
animali che trovano addormentati.
— Ma sentendosi dissanguare, non si svegliano le vittime?
— No, poichè i vampiri operano con una delicatezza infinita.
Essendo forniti d’una piccola tromba formante una ventosa e armata
di papille perforanti, calano lentamente sulla persona addormentata,
forano la pelle lentamente, senza produrre dolore e cominciano a
succhiare. Onde l’uomo non si svegli, hanno la precauzione di
agitare lentamente le ali, procurando all’addormentato una leggiera
corrente d’aria. Quando sono gonfi di sangue da scoppiare, se ne
volano via, e se l’uomo o l’animale non si svegliano, corrono il
pericolo di morire, continuando il sangue ad uscire dalla ferita.
— Che ributtanti volatili!
— Sono veri assassini, che uccidono a tradimento, senza correre
pericolo.
— Dottore, avete udito cosa ha detto Raffaele?
— Delle traccie degli indiani?
— Sì.
— Forse avrà scoperto qualche cosa. Attendiamo che si svegli.
Accesero della legna secca per tenere lontane le zanzare che
sull’Orenoco si radunano a milioni e che producono atroci punture, e
si sdraiarono presso ai compagni, sorvegliando attentamente la
vicina foresta e la sponda del fiume.
La notte però passò tranquilla, quantunque più volte, sotto le fitte
piante, echeggiassero i miagolamenti formidabili dei giaguari e le
urla dei coguari; animali questi più piccoli e meno feroci dei primi, ma
pur sempre pericolosi.
Verso l’alba don Raffaele, che aveva dormito profondamente, si
svegliò. Era però sempre assai debole; tuttavia si alzò da solo e si
diresse verso la scialuppa, dicendo ai compagni:
— Bisogna partire.
— Siete pazzo, amico mio? — disse il dottore. — Vi occorre del
riposo.
— Riposerò più tardi. Del resto con del buon vino e della carne mi
rimetterò presto in forza.
— Ma che necessità vi è di partire?
— Gl’indiani ci precedono.
— Quali? Quelli della freccia? — chiese Alonzo.
— Sì, cugino.
— Ma cos’hai scoperto?
— Le loro traccie.
— Raccontate, don Raffaele, — disse il dottore.
— Imbarchiamoci prima. Dov’è Yaruri?
— Eccomi, padrone, — rispose l’indiano, che li aveva raggiunti.
— Puoi tenere la barra?
— Sì, padrone.
— Imbarchiamoci.
Il dottore ed Alonzo s’affrettarono a spiegare le vele, e la scialuppa,
spinta da una leggiera brezza, si mise a risalire il fiume con velocità
stimata non inferiore ai quattro nodi.
— Ora potete parlare, don Raffaele, — disse il dottore. — Siamo
impazienti di sapere come avete scoperto le tracce degli indiani che
ci lanciarono quella freccia.
— Temo che qualcuno ci abbia traditi, amici, — disse il piantatore. —
Quegli indiani, ormai ne son certo, ci precedono per prepararci forse
un agguato.
— Ma da chi traditi?... Non vi era nessuno sulla terrazza, fuori di noi.
— Non lo so, ma ascoltatemi: io e Yaruri ci eravamo inoltrati nelle
foreste del Cassanare, quando in mezzo ad una fitta macchia
trovammo un fuoco che non era ancora completamente spento.
Sulla terra umida si vedevano le traccie di due calci di fucile e delle
orme di piedi nudi; di più trovammo una freccia eguale a quelle
lanciate contro di voi. Voi sapete che gli indiani sono famosi nel
seguire le orme e Yaruri si mise a seguirle finchè giungemmo sulla
sponda del Cassanare. Colà trovammo, profondamente impressa
nel fango, la traccia d’un canotto. Invano lo cercammo, seguendo le
rive, e girammo la foce del fiume, ma poco dopo il tramonto
vedemmo un punto nero che spiccava sulle acque biancastre
dell’Orenoco. Non si poteva sbagliare: era il canotto che fuggiva
verso l’ovest rimontando la corrente.
— Ma chi possono essere quegli indiani? — chiese il dottore, dopo
alcuni istanti di silenzio.
— Ecco quello che ignoro, — rispose il piantatore.
— Non avete alcun sospetto?
— Nessuno finora.
— Ed io ho sempre in mente quel grido che udimmo sulla terrazza,
don Raffaele.
— Che qualcuno abbia seguito Yaruri, sospettando lo scopo della
sua fuga dalla sua tribù?
— È possibile anche questo.
— Ma sai almeno, cugino mio, di chi vuol vendicarsi Yaruri?
— Sono riuscito a saperlo, — disse don Raffaele, abbassando la
voce. — Egli era uno dei più valorosi indiani della tribù dei
Cassipagotti, alleata degli Eperomerii e degli Orecchioni, ma assai
ambizioso, a quanto ho potuto comprendere, e aspirava a diventare
il capo supremo dei figli del sole. Ma un altro, pure valoroso,
aspirava a tale carica, certo Yopi. Morto il capo, si contesero
accanitamente la carica, ma pare che le tribù alleate fossero più
favorevoli alla nomina di Yopi che a quella di Yaruri. Il fatto è che
quest’ultimo non fu nominato e giurò odio eterno, non solo contro il
rivale, ma anche contro tutte le tribù. Egli certo sapeva degli sforzi
tentati dagli esploratori bianchi per accertare l’esistenza della
famosa città e perciò è venuto da noi. Senza dubbio egli spera in
una invasione d’uomini bianchi per far precipitare Yopi.
— Non facciamo una bella parte in questa faccenda, cugino, —
disse Alonzo. — Ci facciamo i paladini d’un traditore.
— A me basta constatare l’esistenza dell’Eldorado, — disse don
Raffaele, — e ciò nell’interesse della storia e della geografia. Di Yopi
e di Yaruri non mi occuperò e li lascierò a disputarsi il potere. Se non
avremo i tesori promessici da Yaruri, ne faremo senza. Sono
abbastanza ricco oggi e tu, lo sai bene, sei il mio erede.
— Grazie, cugino, — disse Alonzo, sorridendo. — Ma quando
saremo giunti a Manoa, Yaruri reclamerà il nostro aiuto.
— Cercheremo di fare qualche cosa per lui, ma se le tribù dei figli
del sole rifiutano di accettarlo come capo, se la sbrigherà da solo.
Un urto violentissimo che per poco non capovolse la scialuppa, li
fece cadere l’uno addosso all’altro, troncando di colpo la
conversazione.
— Mille fulmini! — esclamò Alonzo, rialzandosi prontamente. —
Cosa succede?
— Yaruri, abbiamo urtato? — chiese don Raffaele.
— Ma no, padrone, — rispose l’indiano. — Non vi sono rocce, nè
bassifondi dinanzi a noi.
Un nuovo urto, più potente del primo fece indietreggiare la scialuppa
e la rovesciò sul babordo, facendole imbarcare parecchie ondate.
Don Raffaele ed i suoi compagni, impugnate delle scuri e dei fucili si
precipitarono verso prua e videro una massa enorme agitarsi dinanzi
alla scialuppa.
— Un lamantino! — gridò il dottore. — Mano alle scuri ed ai fucili!
XIV.
I lamantini dell’Orenoco.
Un animale, lungo dodici piedi, si agitava dinanzi alla scialuppa.

Somigliava ad una foca, ma aveva la testa piuttosto allungata che
arrotondata, fornita d’un pelame lungo che somigliava ad una
capigliatura, occhi neri e vivaci, col petto fornito di grosse mammelle
che gli davano l’aspetto d’una di quelle sirene inventate dagli antichi;
il corpo simile a quello dei pesci, ma con due pinne lunghe e strette
che si potevano scambiare per vere braccia, ed una coda larga.
L’acqua attorno era rossa di sangue, e ciò indicava che era stato
ferito, e forse gravemente, dallo sperone acuto dell’imbarcazione.
Al grido lanciato dal dottore, Yaruri, che pareva avesse riacquistato
prontamente le sue forze, si era lanciato a prora, stringendo nella
destra una pesante ed affilata scure.
L’arma scese rapida sul cranio del gigantesco pesce, penetrando
profondamente nella materia cerebrale, mentre i tre bianchi
scaricavano simultaneamente le carabine.
Il lamantino, colpito a morte, fece un balzo terribile uscendo quasi
tutto intero dall’acqua, poi si tuffò lasciando alla superficie un cerchio
di sangue.
— Perduto? — gridò Alonzo.
— No, è nostro, — rispose Yaruri.
— Quale quantità di carne deliziosa! — esclamò don Raffaele.
— Eccolo! — grido il dottore.
Il lamantino ricompariva alla superficie, insanguinando le acque.
Sbuffava, lanciava rauchi suoni, dibatteva febbrilmente la larga coda
e le pinne pettorali, si sollevava, si rituffava e si contorceva come se
cercasse di sbarazzarsi delle palle che portava nel corpo.
— Un’altra scarica! — comandò don Raffaele. — Questi mammiferi
hanno la vita dura.
Tre altre detonazioni rimbombarono formando uno sparo solo. Il
lamantino, nuovamente colpito, fece un ultimo e più disperato balzo,
poi si distese senza vita e s’abbandonò, semi-sommerso, alla
corrente. La scialuppa, spinta innanzi, lo raggiunse e Yaruri, con una
solida fune, l’ormeggiò a tribordo.
— Ecco ottocento chilogrammi di carne succolenta, guadagnata in
cinque minuti, — disse il dottore.
— Ma che giungono in un brutto momento, Velasco, — disse don
Raffaele. — Non dimentichiamo gl’indiani che ci precedono.
— E vuoi abbandonare tutta questa carne ai caimani?
— Non possiamo perdere tempo. Ne leveremo un bel pezzo e ne
avremo abbastanza. All’opera, Yaruri.
— Ma è proprio squisita quella carne? — chiese Alonzo.
— Ha il gusto di quella del maiale, — rispose il dottore.
— Ma che animali sono questi lamantini? Pesci forse?
— No, mammiferi come le foche e le balene.
— E si trovano solamente nei fiumi?
— Sì, Alonzo, e specialmente in questo. Una volta erano numerosi,
ma sono stati distrutti ed ora non si trovano più che sui fiumi
dell’America centrale, specialmente nel rii dell’Honduras, sul
Sciamelicon, l’Ulua, Patuca, Tinco, Aquan, nell’Orenoco,
specialmente sotto le cateratte, nel Meta, nell’Appure, presso le due
isole Carrigal e Conserva e nell’Amazzone. Anticamente però non
doveva essere raro nei fiumi europei e dell’Africa settentrionale,
poichè si crede, e con ragione, che le antiche sirene non siano state
altro che lamantini. Infatti, non ti sembra che questo lamantino colle
sue mammelle, col suo pelo che porta sul capo e pare una
capigliatura, e colle sue pinne che sembrano braccia autentiche, si
possa scambiare per una donna marina?
— È vero, dottore. Ma di cosa si nutrono questi mammiferi?
— Di alghe, di piante acquatiche insomma.
— Non sono adunque carnivori.
— No.
— Ve ne sono anche di più grandi?
— Si ritiene generalmente che i lamantini non possano raggiungere
il loro pieno sviluppo, in causa della caccia accanita che fanno a loro
gl’indiani, i quali sono ghiottissimi della loro carne. Se ne trovano
però di quelli lunghi perfino sette metri.
— Sono feroci?
— Niente affatto, poichè si possono anche ammaestrare. Due
viaggiatori che vissero nel secolo scorso, narrano che un lamantino
era così affezionato al suo padrone, che quando questi lo chiamava
usciva dall’acqua e portava perfino delle persone sul dorso. Io so poi
che un tedesco e mio amico, certo Kapplar, che dimorava al
Surinam, ne possedeva uno piccolo che gli era pure affezionatissimo
e che accorreva per accarezzarlo e porglisi perfino sulle ginocchia. Il
giardino zoologico di Londra volle acquistarlo, ma durante la
traversata dell’Atlantico il mammifero morì.
— I lamantini possono adunque uscire anche dall’acqua?
— Sì, ma fuori del loro elemento pare che perdano totalmente la
facoltà dell’udito e che ci vedano pochissimo. Ecco Yaruri che ha
finito l’operazione. Mi rincresce dover abbandonare tanta carne ai
voraci caimani.
— Ne troveremo degli altri, Velasco, — disse don Raffaele. — Mi
hanno detto che alla foce del Meta se ne trovano a branchi. Alla
barra, Yaruri.
Orientate le vele, la scialuppa riprese la corsa risalendo la grande
fiumana, le cui acque scendevano sempre con l’eguale lentezza,
avendo il letto dell’Orenoco una pendenza minima in tutto il suo
corso immenso.
Le foreste si succedevano alle foreste su ambe le rive, popolate da
miriadi di uccelli d’ogni specie. Si vedevano bande di pappagalli colle
penne variopinte che brillavano al sole come se quei volatili fossero
cosparsi di smeraldi, di topazii, di rubini e di turchesi; numerose
coppie di bellissimi avoltoi reali, di canindè colle ali turchine ed il
petto giallo, di componga, uccelli bianchi che rompono il maestoso
silenzio delle foresti vergini all’alba ed al vespro, lanciando un grido
potente e che odesi a tre miglia di distanza, distinto come lo squillo
d’una campana o il battito dell’incudine, e perciò chiamati campanari
o fabbri; poi stormi infiniti di gambagira, di teù, di japù e di piassoca, i
quali se ne stavano gravemente allineati sulle sponde, ritti sulle loro
lunghe gambe.
Anche le scimmie non mancavano, ma quasi tutte appartenenti alla
specie conosciuta col nome di sachi, del genere piterecia. Sono
brutte, col pelame nero, colla testa coperta da una specie di
capigliatura che cade loro sulla fronte, rotonda e somigliante a quella
d’un vecchio negro, col viso ornato di una specie di barba ed una
coda lunga, villosa, somigliante a quella delle volpi.
Vi erano però altre scimmie del genere piterecia melanocephala,
simili alle prime, ma senza barba e col pelame bruno-giallognolo.
Sono voracissime, infingarde, paurose, e vivono in grossi branchi
sotto la direzione dei maschi più vecchi e più robusti.
Verso il mezzodì, dopo d’aver percorso una trentina di miglia, i
viaggiatori s’arrestarono presso la foce d’un fiumicello per prepararvi
il pranzo. Avevano appena acceso il fuoco, quando videro avanzarsi
verso di loro, senza la minima diffidenza, parecchi uccelli colle
penne nere, il becco corto sormontato da un soprabecco, strano, che
dava loro un aspetto tutt’altro che attraente, e forniti d’una coda
lunga e larga. Quei volatili si misero a ronzare attorno al fuoco,
beccando qua e là le erbe per cercare i bruchi.

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The Digital Journey of Banking and

Insurance, Volume II Volker Liermann

The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance, Volume I:

The Digital Journey of Banking and Insurance Volume I

Volume III: Data Storage, Data Processing and Data

The Digital Revolution in Banking, Insurance and

The Digital Banking Revolution How Fintech Companies

Green and Sustainable Finance: Principles and Practice

Digital Health Care in Taiwan: Innovations of National

Zero Trust Journey Across the Digital Estate 1st

DIGITALIZATION AND MACHINE LEARNING

“Virtually all financial institutions have embarked on ambitious digital journeys,

The Digital Journey

ISBN 978-3-030-78828-5 ISBN 978-3-030-78829-2 (eBook)

Cover credit: Stutterstock/Paul

Fig. 1 Overview digital transformation © ifb SE

Overview of Book Series

Overview of the Parts of This Book

Process and Process Optimization

Xenia Bogomolec is a Mathematician and Infor-

Marie Kristin Czwalina Senior Consultant, has

Dr. Harro Dittmar Senior Consultant at ifb SE,

Philipp Enzinger is Managing Consultant at ifb

Jens Gabriel Director at ifb SE, has been working

Sebastian Geisel works at ifb as a Senior Consul-

Dr. Jochen Gerhard is a Risk Specialist in Group

Matthias Jacoby Director at ifb, is head of the

Chiara Jakobs Senior Consultant, has been

Dr. Sangmeng Li Senior Consultant at ifb SE, has

Alexander Liebl joined ifb group as a Senior

Volker Liermann Partner at ifb group, worked

Dr. Peter Nonnenmann Senior Scientist at

Lars Rautenburger Director and Head of Oper-

Christopher Schmidt joined the ifb group in

Arne Schmüser Senior Consultant at ifb SE since

Daniel Schröder Managing Consultant at ifb

Farah Skaf works as a Consultant at ifb group.

Claus Stegmann has as Co-CEO of ifb group—

Marian Tieben holds an M.Sc. degree in

Dr. Johannes Waizner began his career at ifb in

Christoph Wünnemann has worked at ifb group

Use Case: Optimization of Regression Tests—Reduction of the

Use Case—Nostro Accounts Match

Fig. 6 Levenshtein distance (© ifb SE) 28

Use Case—Fraud Detection Using Machine Learning

Use Case: NFR—HR Risk

Sentiment Analysis for Reputational Risk Management

Fig. 3 Latent Dirichlet allocation example and overview (© ifb SE) 86

Use Case: NFR—Using GraphDB for Impact Graphs

Distributed Calculation Credit Portfolio Models

BSDS: Balance Sheet Dynamics Simulator

Fig. 2 BSDS—hierarchy of agents in a class diagram (© ifb SE) 138

Fig. 19 MicroStrategy developing desktop (© ifb SE) 175

Categorical Quantum Theory

Processes in a Digital Environment

Hyperautomation (Automated Decision-Making as Part of

RPA Use Case—“IFRS 9/SPPI”

Fig. 7 Using digitalization as a driver for increased efficiency