HSBC to Hire 100 AI Specialists as Bank Sets Up Singapore Center

HSBC Holdings Plc is set to hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists in Singapore with plans to launch a global AI center in the city-state later this year as the British lender steps up investments in the technology that’s reshaping Wall Street workforces.

The bank said in a statement Monday that the Singapore center will initially focus on introducing agentic treasury solutions and developing AI-enabled digital payments. The specialists will work alongside David Rice, HSBC’s chief AI officer, and teams responsible for areas such as wealth management and global payment solutions.

The center aims to build a “pipeline of talent” across natural language processing, data science and AI governance, and will work with educational institutions and government bodies in Singapore, the bank said.

HSBC’s deeper push into AI follows months after Bloomberg News reported that the firm is weighing extensive job cuts over the coming years as Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery bets on the technology to shrink its middle and back offices. The changes could ultimately impact around 20,000 roles, or about 10% of its total headcount, a person familiar with the deliberations said in March.

In May, Elhedery warned that AI will “destroy” certain roles while creating others, urging employees to adapt rather than resist the technological shift. Still, he has emphasized that humans will remain central to banks for their judgment, decision making and accountability.

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