How DBS is shaping Asia’s future as an AI-enabled bank with a heart

AS SINGAPORE embarked on its early journey as an independent nation, the Development Bank of Singapore was established in 1968 to finance industrialisation and help build the foundations of a modern economy.

“Close to 60 years on, the context has changed but that underlying purpose remains intact,” says Peter Seah, chairman of DBS as it is known today.

As South-east Asia’s largest bank by assets, with a growing regional footprint and the scale to compete alongside global financial players, DBS is supporting Singapore’s push towards a more digitally connected economy and trusted AI hub.

The lender is also helping customers navigate a world reshaped by technology, shifting economic relationships and unprecedented change.

DBS’ transformation into a regional financial powerhouse has been driven by its ability to identify and capture structural shifts in Asia.

It is well-positioned to do so with its scale and heft, world-class capabilities as well as digital and AI prowess. Among key milestones, the bank was the first Singapore-listed company to cross S$200 billion in market capitalisation in July 2026, placing it among the top 20 banks globally. It was also named “World’s Best Private Bank” by Euromoney and “World’s Best Corporate Bank” by Global Finance this year.

Its scale, franchise strengths as well as digital and AI leadership are converging into a differentiated franchise. This sets DBS apart to serve customers amid the region’s unprecedented wealth creation as well as changing trade and investment flows.

The bank’s wealth business, for instance, is today ranked 4th largest in Asia by assets under management (AUM) and banks 120 nationalities. Recognised globally, it is targeting more than S$1 trillion in AUM across its retail and wealth businesses by 2030.

“Our well-entrenched wealth continuum and wealth connectivity position us strongly to capture the region’s unprecedented wealth creation,” says DBS CEO Tan Su Shan.

Beyond wealth management, Asia’s trade, investment and capital corridors are being reshaped, creating opportunities for DBS, with its deep regional connectivity and capabilities spanning trade, payments, treasury and sector expertise.

The lender is already capturing these tailwinds in markets such as India and Taiwan, where it is the largest foreign bank.

These capabilities allow DBS to serve customers across markets while bringing together expertise across the bank. Its “One Bank” approach is designed to enable the bank to identify unmet needs and deliver coordinated solutions across business lines, markets and customer segments.

Combining people and AI

If regional expansion and digital transformation were defining features of DBS’ previous phase of growth, the next phase is likely to be shaped by a more disruptive force: artificial intelligence.

At DBS, AI goes beyond automating processes and introducing new digital tools. It is changing how the bank operates, makes decisions and engages customers.

“Our ambition is simple: to be an AI-enabled bank with a heart, which builds on our vision of being the Best Bank for a Better World,” says Tan.

As AI capabilities advance at unprecedented speed, DBS believes the winners are those that combine machine capabilities with human judgement, not those that merely deploy the most sophisticated technology.

“It’s about putting humans at the centre of all that we do. We combine the best of machine capabilities with human empathy, creativity and judgement to deliver trusted outcomes for our customers and employees,” says Tan.

For DBS, the ambition to become an AI-enabled bank with a heart, rests on three strategic moats: trust, data and culture.

Trust is critical because banking depends on confidence – in institutions, systems and decisions. Data provides the foundation for deploying AI at scale. And culture determines whether an organisation can adapt quickly to make technology meaningful.

The bank’s early investments in digital infrastructure and data have given it a head start.

Already, its data analytics and AI/ML deployment generated about S$1 billion in economic value in 2025.

Generative AI and, increasingly, agentic AI will further transform the way it works while creating value for customers.

In wealth management, AI has reduced customer onboarding turnaround time by 50 per cent in just the first five months of this year.

In corporate banking, specialised agents undertake 70 tasks involved in the credit assessment process, freeing up time for corporate bankers to have strategic client conversations about growth. In addition, the bank’s Gen AI and agentic Al virtual assistants now serve more than 10 million retail and corporate customers across the region. DBS is also convening important conversations on AI and its role in the economy and society.

At the same time, DBS is ensuring that its employees are brought along for the transformation. It is equipping all its 40,000 employees globally with foundational AI capabilities, while further upskilling 11,000 employees whose roles are expected to be significantly transformed by AI or who are preparing for emerging roles.

The 4D advantage

The transformation is taking place against a world that is becoming more uncertain and fragmented.

Businesses are navigating shifting supply chains, changing investment corridors, geopolitical tensions and accelerating technological disruption.

For customers, the challenge is not simply accessing financial services but making sense of an environment where yesterday’s assumptions may no longer hold.

“In a more uncertain and fragmented world, customers are looking for a trusted partner to help them navigate change,” says Tan. “We want DBS to be that lighthouse and a haven our customers can rely on through the ups and downs.”

This is where its 4D proposition comes into play – to be a Dependable, Diversifier, Digital and Disruptor bank.

As a Dependable bank, DBS aims to provide the financial, technological and operational resilience that customers need in volatile times.

As a Diversifier bank, DBS is helping customers diversify across currencies, investments, markets and supply chains. Its regional network and cross-border capabilities position it to help customers identify opportunities as the global economic order evolves.

As a Digital bank, DBS is leveraging its early headstart in data and AI to drive human-AI collaboration at scale and transform its operating models to benefit both employees and customers.

As a Disruptor bank, DBS aims to capitalise on disruptive structural forces, drawing on its culture of innovation to lead on multiple fronts, such as digital assets even before tokenisation and programmable money gained wider traction. Its tokenised physical gold offering for retail customers will be a market first.

A pivotal transformation

For chairman Seah, the ability to reinvent while preserving institutional strength has long been part of Singapore’s banking story.

“When you look at Singapore’s banking sector over the decades, it has always been characterised by a willingness to reinvent, from supporting domestic industrialisation to regional expansion, computerisation and digital banking,” he says.

But AI represents a pivotal transformation.

“AI is reshaping not just how banks operate, but how decisions are made, how trust is formed and how customers interact,” says Seah.

“I see this AI moment as both a continuation of a long pattern of reinvention and a genuine inflection point that will change the industry in more fundamental ways.”

For DBS, that makes the balance between innovation and trust more important.

“That balance between ambition and prudence, between innovation and trust is foundational to the bank’s DNA as an innovative, future-forward and purpose-driven bank,” says Seah.

This philosophy will define DBS going forward. And like Singapore, it will continue to punch above its weight by anticipating change, building capabilities early and turning constraints into a competitive advantage.

Tan says, “In the next decade, Asia will remain a major player in the global economy. We want DBS to be a trusted partner in that growth, not just keeping pace with technology but using it meaningfully to shape the future of banking.”

For a bank that began by financing the future of a young nation, the mission continues to evolve.

It is determined to help customers navigate an increasingly complex Asia, while using technology to move faster, regional scale to go further, and human judgement to ensure that progress remains grounded in trust.

DBS believes that may be what it takes to be not just an AI-enabled bank, but an AI-enabled bank with a heart.