The Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025, unveiled in September 2022, outlines growth strategies to further develop Singapore as a leading international financial centre in Asia — to connect global markets, support Asia’s development and serve Singapore’s economy, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
With ITM 2025, MAS expects that the financial sector will create between 3,000 and 4,000 net jobs on average per year between 2021 and 2025. To support this endeavour, the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) administered by MAS will channel $400 million to support the Talent and Leaders in Finance programme.
“[This] will invest more in skills training for our people, with a focus on developing more Singaporean finance specialists and leaders,” said Lawrence Wong, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance at the ITM launch event on Sept 15, 2022.
Broadly, the ITM for the financial sector comprises five key strategies: to enhance asset class strengths, digitalise financial infrastructure, catalyse Asia’s net-zero transition, shape the future of financial networks, and foster a skilled and adaptable workforce.
MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) are working closely with the financial industry and tripartite partners to provide a comprehensive suite of initiatives to develop Singaporean financial sector professionals at different stages of their careers.
Ensuring a sufficient pipeline of talent
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Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Group, recognises that ensuring a sufficient pipeline of talent is key to execute strategies such as the Financial Services ITM 2025, National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy 2.0 and the Finance for Net Zero Action Plan.
The availability of talent is especially important in new areas such as AI, blockchain and sustainable finance, where talent may not be readily available.
“For instance, Singapore has set a goal of tripling its AI workforce to 15,000 in the next three to five years. Similarly, the transformative potential of blockchain is driving a need for more expertise in distributed ledger technologies and asset tokenisation. Achieving such numbers requires a consistent and concerted effort from all stakeholders,” says Gupta.
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Gupta: Employees who can connect the dots across different domains and adapt to ambiguity will thrive. Photo: The Edge Singapore
He adds that the banks in Singapore have been working closely with MAS and IBF to transform their workforces. For instance, DBS is preparing over 8,100 employees to step into new or evolved roles.
The bank has developed over 30 structured learning roadmaps referencing industry best practices and frameworks, such as IBF’s Job Transformation Maps in Data Analytics, Automation, and Sustainable Finance.
However, as the industry equips its workforce with new skills, Gupta also believes in developing the workforce’s sensitivity and agility to “navigate a more complex operating environment, particularly where technology and politics intersect”.
“It is fallacious to assume that technology and data are apolitical. In a world where geopolitics is increasingly fractious and contested, issues of data protection and nationalisation will become more prominent. Our people need to be ready to manage these realities,” he says.
With the rise of technologies such as AI, Gupta says society needs to be “deliberate” about how it is defined and responds to change.
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“Some of the biggest challenges ahead are not science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related but rooted in social sciences and philosophy. How do we distinguish between humans and robots as AI algorithms advance? Will today’s hub-and-spoke model of cross-border transactions remain necessary with distributed ledger technology?” he asks.
At DBS, the bank has instituted a Responsible Data Use Committee and principles called PURE, which ensures data use is purposeful, unsurprising, respectful and explainable.
“However, the right course of action is often not clear-cut, and we spend an inordinate amount of time debating what is right,” says Gupta. “In such a future, employees who can connect the dots across different domains and adapt to ambiguity will thrive.”
Keeping up with the times
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) group CEO Helen Wong acknowledges that the “rapid advancement” of technology, especially AI, presents both risks and opportunities.
“[Technology has] the potential to not only displace jobs but also change the way we work,” she says.
Like her peers, Wong also recognises the importance of investing in the industry’s workforce, enabling them to reskill and upskill with the relevant knowledge to tap on technology and AI.
She also notes that the industry has to work with its stakeholders to beef up its digital defences as AI is another avenue that fraudsters may exploit. OCBC is continuing to step up its efforts to raise consumer awareness, as they are the first line of defence, she says.
Wong: [Technology has] the potential to not only displace jobs but also change the way we work. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
The path to net zero is another opportunity and challenge for the industry, as its growth is dynamic.
“We have seen encouraging signs from the exponential adoption of electric vehicles and expansion in renewable energy investment globally. However, we have also seen backward steps with plans to reopen coal-fired power plants in some parts of Europe (e.g. Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands),” Wong notes.
“While many financial institutions have set net zero sectoral targets, these rely upon variables that are difficult to predict. Many technologies in their infancy will need to become mainstream and economically viable. In contrast, government policies that create the right economic incentives for transition must be implemented. Government, development agencies, and equity capital need to come together to support new initiatives,” she adds.
At OCBC, the bank has introduced several initiatives to help its employees grow, such as its signature “Grow Your Way” festival, which happens annually.
Here, employees learn about opportunities within the OCBC Group and the skills required to get there.
“Grow Your Way is supported by MOBI, our AI-powered career marketplace platform that extracts an individual’s skills, matches employees to suitable new roles in the organisation and recommends appropriate learning programmes to close any skill gap,” says Wong.
The bank also supports a “learning agility” culture and prioritises talent mobility. The latter is a topic dear to Wong as she has significantly benefitted from mobility programmes.
“I was a management trainee and relationship manager and have worked in the capital markets space, among others, with many of these roles within the same organisation. If you ask my colleagues, they will tell you that I always encourage them to try new roles, especially in different markets,” she shares.
“To encourage mobility, it is again back to skills. We look at someone’s skills when assessing their suitability for a role. In the past, when a colleague was interested in another role within OCBC, they might have been turned down as they lacked relevant work experience. Experience is no longer the deciding factor today,” she adds. “Take a business development role. We recognise that someone who has never had direct business development experience may still be a good fit based on their skills.”
Growing the industry’s timber
Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and group CEO of UOB, emphasises that a “strong and resilient” financial sector is vital to a nation’s economic health.
“The financial sector has a collective responsibility to drive economic growth and to strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading global financial centre,” he says, noting that the banks in Singapore have contributed to the country’s economic growth, from Third World to First in the last 50 years and within a single generation.
With this in mind, the professional growth of UOB employees in the long term is a “key focus” for the bank.
“We are committed to growing our own timber and supporting our people to realise their full potential,” says Wee.
Employees get to embark on various learning and development programmes should they want to upskill and reskill. Such programmes include UOB’s Career + U programme, which matches employees’ aspirations with job opportunities within the bank to encourage mobility across departments and geographical locations. The programme combines targeted talent development courses, career counselling and a one-stop microsite that highlights available internal roles.
Wee: We are committed to growing our own timber and supporting our people to realise their full potential. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
UOB also provides opportunities for the bank’s employees to develop skills essential for current and future work readiness, says Wee. These skills include fostering a growth mindset, encouraging problem-solving, fostering digital innovation and awareness, prioritising customer centricity through adopting a human-centred design, and sharpening data analysis.
UOB also collaborates with IBF and higher learning institutions to initiate talent development programmes. For instance, the bank has hosted final-year polytechnic and ITE students from hospitality, business, and information communication and technology schools for year-long internships, potentially leading to employment or sponsorship for further studies.
After all, the bank’s people are its “greatest assets,” says Wee. “We will continue to invest to create a conducive environment where our people are engaged and energised. This investment ensures we have the right culture and talent pool to deliver value to our customers and stakeholders.”
Key drivers of change
To UOB’s Wee, the operating environment in the next decade is expected to differ vastly from today.
“The geopolitical shift into a multipolar world order presents an opportunity for Southeast Asia to thrive as an important trade and manufacturing hub. Such regionalisation of economic flows will impact how financial institutions organise their businesses,” he says.
At the same time, the CEO of UOB sees new industries emerging, such as the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and transitioning to renewable energy from the push towards sustainability.
AI will likely change the landscape as it takes service and productivity to new heights. For instance, using AI to streamline operations, such as call centres, will lead to greater efficiency, says Wee.
Furthermore, the rise of regulated digital currencies and tokens may be used to gradually replace cash and cheques in day-to-day spending for domestic and cross-border transactions.
That said, trust will remain the cornerstone of every bank. “As scams become more sophisticated, banks must become sharper to stay ahead in the fight against fraudulent activities,” says Wee. “Our employees undergo training on scams so that they may identify abnormalities in customer behaviour and their banking transactions. They are also trained to pick up scam-related red flags and to take the appropriate actions to assist our customers.”
He adds that fighting scams will require an approach from the entire ecosystem, including authorities, telecommunication companies (telcos) and the merchants. “Importantly, customers must continue to stay vigilant and be the first line of defence. Everyone has a part to play.”
OCBC’s Wong sees opportunities within trades between Asean and Greater China, where investment and wealth flows have gained prominence over the years.
“Asean is attractive to Greater China because of its strong domestic reform and improving macroeconomic fundamentals; according to China’s Outward Direct Investment (ODI) flows, Singapore has traditionally been the largest beneficiary of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand,” she says. “This reflects Singapore’s position as a financial hub, with strong synergies in the manufacturing, real estate, and services sectors.”
“Indeed, we increasingly see Chinese businesses coming to this part of the world to do business. They want to go to Malaysia — to Penang, for example — which has an established ecosystem for higher-end manufacturing. Indonesia’s large population and abundance of natural resources are other attractions. However, Singapore is often their first stop in the region because of its well-developed financial system, supported by a strong regulatory and legal environment. It is an ideal springboard into the region,” she adds.
The rising wealth in Asia is another opportunity, with GDPs in some countries seeing exponential growth of around 5%.
“Of course, wealth doesn’t grow just purely by GDP, but when individuals invest, their wealth grows faster. We have observed more people entering the ranks of the wealthy,” says Wong.
“More and better wealth advice and management are needed to serve this growing wealth. These people are increasingly turning their attention to the preservation of wealth across generations. That is a huge opportunity,” she adds.
Finally, Wong says that new technologies such as AI and blockchain are driving organisations to invest in building a future-ready workforce.
“There is a need to build a more resilient workforce equipped with breadth of skills – and the learning agility to keep upgrading one’s skills – not just technical domain expertise. It is not just the speed of technological changes pushing us to prioritise learning agility and a skills-first approach. It is also the increasing complexity in the evolution of our business models,” she adds.
DBS’s Gupta sees that Singapore’s connectivity, trusted neutrality, and unique position as a city-state will enable it to serve as a lab for innovative solutions and to continue playing a critical role in the global economy.
Says Gupta: “With sustainability and AI set to dominate business agendas, there are significant opportunities for Singapore to become a green finance centre, a carbon trading hub, and a hub for data and AI services.”
He adds: “I have long been a proponent of horizontal learning, where individuals acquire a breadth of skills beyond the technical. Understanding psychology, philosophy, communication and behavioural sciences can be powerful differentiators for individuals and organisations,” he continues. “For example, many companies talk about customer obsession with the need for better UI/UX. But if you think about this more deeply, the best people for UI/UX are anthropologists, ethnographers and social psychologists. At DBS, we have more than a dozen ethnographers in our design team whose sole job is to understand why people respond the way they do and to enhance our customer journeys accordingly.”
Looking ahead, Gupta sees Singapore’s commitment to innovation and investment in talent with an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and forging strong collaborations within the industry and with other partners, which will position the country well to weather any storms ahead.
“Banks, in particular, will play a key role in driving this progress and ensuring sustainable growth,” he says.
