BNY to move Singapore offices to Marina One East Tower

[SINGAPORE] BNY is entering its next phase of transformation that bets big on artificial intelligence (AI). But for the bank’s employees in Singapore, the changes also mean investments in its offices to enable more growth opportunities.

Within the next four to five months, the bank will move its Singapore offices to Marina One East Tower from its current location in Millenia Tower, revealed chief executive officer Robin Vince in an exclusive interview with The Business Times during a recent visit to Singapore in November.

The move is part of the company’s global transformation efforts that include investments in the firm’s culture and office facilities, he said. Two-thirds of 50,000 people are working in offices that have been significantly renovated or brand new in the past three years, he said.

“There was a long list of things that we’ve done. New spaces are an example, because we wanted our employees to be able to feel like they had amenities, that they had first-class facilities... (so) they would feel like we were investing in them. They would appreciate the space. They would appreciate the tools, including AI, that we make available to them, allowing them to focus on our clients,” he added.

The new Singapore office “does have a bit bigger capacity” but it is not only about the size of growth but also the quality of space, and the investment in people, Vince shared.

In the age of AI, increasing the number of staff is no longer an indicator of business growth, he said.

“If you and I were talking five years ago, we would equate growth of business as sort of almost linear with growth of number of people,” he said. “I think that paradigm is starting to change and (we’re) growing in Asia-Pacific.”

Within the region, BNY has identified opportunities for organic growth in South-east Asia, Japan, Australia and South Korea.

Australia’s global superannuation strategies and South Korea’s foreign exchange market reforms, for instance, are potential opportunities for the bank’s services, a spokesperson said.

SEE ALSO

BNY deepens AI, digital asset embrace as it enters next phase: CEO Robin Vince tells BT

Lower funding costs, firm fundamentals to fuel appetite for Singapore commercial real estate 

Japan also stands out for “their asset management centre (plans), the new Nippon Individual Savings Accounts, and the opportunity for seeing a real turning point in the economy and potentially a turning point in growth from what they’ve experienced in the past 30 years”, Vince said.

In October, BNY won a mandate from Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension fund with US$1.8 trillion in assets, to provide alternative investment data.

In February, the US$920 billion National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) chose BNY’s specialised investment operations service to access BlackRock’s Aladdin platform as part of NPS’ technology transformation strategy.

BNY had US$57.8 trillion in assets under administration and US$2.1 trillion in assets under management as at Sep 30.

According to the bank’s 2024 annual report, non-US clients contributed 35 per cent of its total revenue of US$18.6 billion.

Asia-Pacific revenues were US$1.3 billion in 2024, down 1 per cent from 2023 due to a fall in its market and wealth services, and investment and wealth management businesses.

The annual report also noted that the decrease was partially offset by higher revenue in the securities services business for the region, and that the firm’s financial results are affected by translation from foreign currencies to the US dollar.