IBM Plans to Buy Promontory Financial Group

International Business Machines Corp. plans to purchase consultancy Promontory Financial Group LLC., the two companies said Thursday, creating a new subsidiary dubbed'Watson Financial Services.' The companies didn't disclose financial details of the deal, which they said is subject to regulatory approvals. The idea, they said, is to combine Promontory's financial regulatory expertise with Watson, IBM IBM 0.61 % 's artificial intelligence computer system, to help banks meet ever-rising regulatory expectations in areas such as anti-money-laundering detection systems, consumer complaint databases, and so-called stress tests. Financial regulatory requirements are "rapidly outstripping the capacity of humans to keep up," a joint press release from the companies said. Privately held Promontory was founded in 2001 by Eugene Ludwig, a former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, and has hired a small army of former regulators and government officials to advise financial firms.