HSBC to set up global AI excellence centre in Singapore 

HSBC will open a global AI centre of excellence in Singapore in the second half of 2026 as it expands AI capabilities across its operations.

The new unit will work on improving conversations linked to the customer wealth journey, rolling out agentic tools for treasury activities and creating AI-based digital payments capabilities.

The bank expects to recruit more than 100 AI specialists for the centre.

They will work with HSBC chief AI Officer David Rice, as well as teams covering businesses such as wealth management and global payments.

HSBC said the Singapore centre is intended to create a talent pipeline in natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design.

It added that it will collaborate with educational institutions and government bodies in Singapore.

HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery 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.”

Last month, HSBC signed a multi-year deal with Google Cloud to build and deploy AI tools across its global business.

That agreement is meant to accelerate the adoption of AI-driven working practices in the bank’s operations.

As part of the deal, HSBC will work with engineers from Google Cloud and Google DeepMind on tools and programmes built with Google’s agentic AI technology, including Gemini models and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.

HSBC said this work is projected to result in more than 200 AI use cases over the next two years.

In March, Bloomberg reported that HSBC is weighing job cuts as part of an AI-driven overhaul, with the move primarily targeting non-client facing positions in service centres.

The changes would affect up to 20,000 jobs, or around 10% of the bank’s total workforce.