Banks scale AI training
Singapore is scaling AI capability across its banking sector: more than 17,000 employees at the country’s three local banks are already prepared to use AI in their jobs, and roughly the same number are expected to complete AI training within two years under an Institute of Banking and Finance programme. The effort pairs AI upskilling with green-finance training across about 35,000 workers (channelnewsasia.com).
Singapore’s three local banks already have more than 17,000 staff ready to use artificial intelligence at work, with another similar-sized group due to finish training within two years. (channelnewsasia.com) The programme covers employees at DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank, and the total retraining effort spans about 35,000 domestic workers. Singapore’s Institute of Banking and Finance is running the push. (businesstimes.com.sg, channelnewsasia.com) The same effort also includes green-finance training, pairing artificial intelligence skills with training for jobs tied to sustainable finance. Carolyn Neo, chief executive of the Institute of Banking and Finance, said the goal is to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global finance hub. (channelnewsasia.com) Singapore’s regulators have been building the training framework alongside the banks. Workforce Singapore says the Generative Artificial Intelligence Jobs Transformation Map for finance was published in October 2025 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Institute of Banking and Finance and Workforce Singapore. (wsg.gov.sg) That map is a sector guide for how generative artificial intelligence could reshape finance jobs through 2030, including which roles are likely to change and which new skills employers need. The Institute of Banking and Finance says 11 financial institutions, including DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank, are piloting workforce changes under that plan. (ibf.org.sg, wsg.gov.sg) The banking push comes as lenders try to expand artificial intelligence use without relying only on job cuts. In February 2025, DBS said it expected to reduce about 4,000 contract and temporary roles over three years as artificial intelligence took over more tasks, while saying permanent staff would not be affected. (channelnewsasia.com) The three banks have been laying groundwork before this sector-wide target. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation rolled out a generative artificial intelligence chatbot to employees globally in October 2023 and said artificial intelligence was already making more than four million decisions a day across processes including risk management, customer service and sales. (ocbc.com) United Overseas Bank launched an internal mobility and training programme in October 2024 to move workers in operations and administrative roles into jobs such as risk, compliance, sales and customer experience, with up to 500 opportunities over two years. (straitstimes.com) Singapore is now trying to make that bank-by-bank shift a sector-wide one: train tens of thousands of workers first, then fold artificial intelligence into everyday banking jobs. (channelnewsasia.com, ibf.org.sg)
