Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Jong said the real value of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector should be judged not only by cost savings but by the jobs it creates and how existing workers can be retrained for those roles. He made the remarks at the DBS Leaders Dialogue event on Wednesday.
Gan argued that when companies roll out AI, they should not focus solely on how much money can be saved. Firms also need to consider what new roles may be created and how to upskill or reskill current employees to fill them.
He was clear that slowing AI adoption is not the answer for Singapore, because doing so would weaken the city‑state’s competitiveness and ultimately harm workers. A DBS report presented at the event ranked Singapore third among 15 major AI‑using financial centres, behind New York and San Francisco, and noted that among free‑market hubs Singapore is closest to combining AI capabilities with institutional trust at scale.
Gan identified three factors that will shape the future of Singapore’s financial centre:
- corporate‑level integration of AI as it moves out of experimental phases;
- the creation of quality jobs; and
- embedding trust, security and safeguards at every stage of AI development and use.
Tan Szu‑san, chief executive officer of DBS, said Singapore’s small size could become an advantage through AI, which can act as a force multiplier and enable a limited workforce to achieve much greater output. She added that companies must guide both employees and customers through the transition.
Gan’s comments came amid large restructuring moves by global banks tied to AI adoption. Standard Chartered announced it will cut more than 7,000 jobs over four years as part of its AI‑driven transformation. Georges Elhedery, chief executive officer of HSBC, also said this week that generative AI will “eliminate certain roles” while creating new ones, urging employees to embrace the change.
Further discussion of the AI boom, fintech innovations and digital transformation in banking is scheduled for the Financial IT 2026 conference organised by Financial IT and Portfolio on May 28.
(Source: Reuters)
