HSBC said on Monday it will launch a Global AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore in the second half of 2026, hiring more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists to develop AI capabilities for its worldwide operations as the bank accelerates investment in higher-growth businesses across Asia.

According to HSBC, the new centre will build AI tools that can be deployed across its global network while maintaining human oversight and governance. Initial projects will focus on improving customer wealth management conversations, introducing agentic treasury solutions and developing AI-enabled digital payments.

Georges Elhedery, group chief executive of HSBC, said: “The new AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore will help drive our global AI vision – to empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalised experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core.”

The bank will recruit specialists in natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design, with the new hires working alongside chief AI officer David Rice and teams across wealth management and global payments. The news agency said the bank is simultaneously hiring another 100 relationship managers in Singapore as it expands its local wealth management business, reinforcing its strategy of growing higher-fee businesses in Asia.

HSBC said it will work with educational institutions and government bodies in Singapore to develop a pipeline of AI talent. The bank said it views artificial intelligence as an opportunity to become "a simple, more responsive and more connected bank" by investing in technology, platforms and employee training while integrating AI throughout its operations.

The investment follows a series of strategic moves to sharpen HSBC's focus on Asia. Last week the lender agreed to sell its life and health insurance business in Singapore to Allianz for S$2.7 billion as it continues to reduce non-core operations and concentrate on wealth management and wholesale banking in the region.

The hiring drive comes as major global banks increase investment in artificial intelligence while reshaping their workforces. Rival Standard Chartered said in May its AI transformation programme would eliminate about 8,000 internal roles, while Elhedery said earlier this year that AI would both create and replace jobs across the financial services industry as HSBC retrains employees to adapt to new technologies.

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