Singapore tells banks to use AI for job creation, not just cost cuts
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong told the country's financial firms on Wednesday to treat AI as a tool for creating better jobs, not simply trimming payroll. His comments came as major banks announced significant workforce reductions tied to AI adoption.
Standard Chartered said Tuesday it would cut more than 7,000 jobs over four years. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery acknowledged Wednesday that generative AI would "destroy certain jobs" and "create new jobs," calling on staff to adapt.
Gan pushed back against the idea that slowing AI adoption could protect workers. "For Singapore, the answer cannot be to hold back change. If we slow AI adoption, we will weaken our competitiveness and ultimately hurt workers more, not less," he said at the DBS Leaders Dialogue event.
He outlined what financial firms should ask themselves when implementing AI: "How much cost can we save? They should also ask: What new roles can we create? How can existing workers be trained for them?"
Singapore ranks third among AI financial hubs
A DBS report released at the event ranked Singapore third globally for AI financial capability, behind New York and San Francisco. The report noted Singapore's advantage as an open-market hub combining AI capability with institutional trust at scale.
Singapore's next phase as a financial center depends on three factors, Gan said: moving AI from experimentation into company-wide adoption, ensuring it creates quality jobs, and building trust and security into how AI is developed and used.
DBS Group CEO Tan Su Shan framed Singapore's small workforce as a potential strength. "Small amplified by AI means our limited workforce can now do many more things than we could before," he said. He stressed that companies must bring employees and customers along in the transition. "Humans matter," Tan added.
For finance professionals navigating AI adoption, resources on AI for Finance and Generative AI and LLM can provide context for industry shifts.
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