What Data Retention Policies Are Enforced?
Define, document, and automate data retention by system and data class so customer records, campaigns, and logs are kept long enough for risk, not longer.!
Our data retention policies are enforced by classifying data into regulated categories (customer, transactional, marketing, logs, models), assigning retention periods and deletion rules to each category, and applying those rules consistently across systems. For each data class, we define how long it is kept, where it is stored, when it is archived, and how it is securely disposed of. Automated jobs, legal holds, and monitoring ensure that customer records, campaign data, and audit logs are retained long enough to meet regulatory, tax, and risk requirements—then minimized or deleted on schedule.
What Matters Most in Data Retention Policies?
The Data Retention Policy Enforcement Playbook
Use this sequence to move from scattered, tool-by-tool settings to a governed, exam-ready data retention framework for campaigns and customer data.
Discover → Classify → Define → Implement → Monitor → Review → Improve
- Discover what you store today: Inventory customer, account, transactional, marketing, and log data across core banking, CRM, martech, data warehouses, and file stores.
- Classify data and map obligations: Group data into classes (e.g., KYC, disclosures, campaign history, contact logs) and map each class to the regulations and internal policies that apply.
- Define retention schedules and triggers: For each class, specify how long it must be kept, what events reset the clock (e.g., account closure), and what happens at end of life (archive vs. delete).
- Implement controls in systems: Configure retention, archiving, and deletion in operational systems, data platforms, and backups—avoiding manual, ad hoc cleanup where possible.
- Monitor jobs, holds, and exceptions: Track retention job health, legal holds, and manual overrides. Reconcile what should have been deleted with what is actually present in systems of record.
- Review with Compliance and business owners: Conduct periodic reviews of schedules, logs, and sample records to confirm policies are followed and still aligned to evolving obligations.
- Continuously improve and simplify: Use insights from audits, issues, and exams to refine retention classes, shorten time in non-essential systems, and reduce redundant copies of data.
Data Retention Capability Maturity Matrix
| Capability | From (Ad Hoc) | To (Operationalized) | Owner | Primary KPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Classification | Unlabeled data scattered across systems | Defined data classes with mapped retention, sensitivity, and business owners | Data Governance | Critical Data with Assigned Class |
| Retention Schedules | Policy statements in PDFs | Machine-readable schedules that systems can enforce by product, region, and data class | Risk & Compliance | In-Scope Data with Mapped Schedule |
| System Enforcement | Manual deletion and ad hoc cleanups | Automated retention, archiving, and deletion jobs with monitoring and alerting | IT / Platform Owners | Automated vs. Manual Deletions |
| Legal Holds | Email-based “please don’t delete this” | Formal legal hold workflow that pauses retention jobs and documents scope and duration | Legal | Matters with Complete Hold Coverage |
| Evidence & Reporting | Hard-to-reconstruct history | Dashboards showing retention status, exceptions, and sample trails for audits/exams | Risk & Compliance | Time to Produce Retention Evidence |
| Marketing & AI Alignment | Campaign data kept “just in case” | Marketing and AI logs retained only as long as needed for explainability, risk, and performance | Marketing Ops / Analytics | Aged Campaign Records Retired On Time |
Client Snapshot: Retention Discipline That Still Grows Funded Accounts
A regional bank discovered that customer and campaign data was being kept indefinitely in multiple tools. By classifying data, defining system-level retention, and automating deletion, they reduced redundant data stores by 40%, shortened evidence production time for exams, and kept the granular campaign history needed to optimize funded account growth. See how data and marketing come together in our funded accounts perspective and our broader financial services practice.
Strong data retention policies do more than satisfy regulators—they give you cleaner datasets, faster analytics, and clearer stories about how marketing drives growth.
Frequently Asked Questions about Data Retention Policies
Turn Data Retention into a Growth and Risk Advantage
We’ll help you align data retention, marketing, and analytics so you can satisfy regulators and accelerate revenue at the same time.
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