Retail Banking Institute | DBS of Singapore leads the way on AI

DBS of Singapore leads the way on AI

Singapore bank DBS said it expects to create 1,000 new AI-related jobs, while planning to eliminate 4,000 other jobs over the next three years. The bank said it will not renew contracts for thousands of temporary/contract staff across 19 markets. “DBS currently has between 8,000 and 9,000 temporary and contract workers,” reports the BBC. “The bank employs a total of around 41,000 people. Chief executive Piyush Gupta said DBS had been working on AI for over a decade. “In any AI transformation, data is the heart of the whole operation, ” Mr Gupta told McKinsey. “The second leg of the stool, so to speak, is developing the AI models; the third is the organizational changes that have to be made for the transformation to become the day-to-day reality.” He said the bank now deploys over 800 AI models across 350 use cases, and expects the measured economic impact of these to exceed S$1bn ($745m; £592m) in 2025. Commenting on DBS replacing humans with AI, and implications for UK banks, Douglas Grant, Group CEO of Manx Financial Group, said that it’s not just about changes in technology. “For UK banks, the challenge isn’t just operational – it’s cultural,” he said. “How quickly will customers embrace AI-driven services? While technology can streamline processes and improve outcomes, trust takes time to build. On the other hand, UK society is ageing, and change is not only inevitable but to a certain extent necessary – and some roles being filled by technology offerings is both a challenge and a solution to some of the issues we face. The key will be ensuring AI delivers not just efficiency but better, more inclusive customer experiences. That’s the real test for banks on this side of the world.”