DBS Will Continue to Hire Graduates: CEO Tan Su Shan on AI

Why It Matters

The approach signals how a major bank intends to balance automation with ongoing hiring and workforce upskilling, shaping talent pipelines, customer service models and competitive positioning as AI transforms financial services.

Summary

DBS CEO Tan Su Shan said the bank is embracing AI to automate mundane tasks and create capacity for growth while deliberately preserving and reskilling staff. DBS has rolled out an internal DBS GPT used by about 70% of employees and built roughly 10,000 agents, with leadership trained to develop agents but urged caution against overreliance. The bank plans to continue hiring graduates, apprentices and interns to build a talent bench and future leaders even as McKinsey-style predictions foresee white-collar disruption. Tan framed the strategy as building an “AI-enabled bank with a heart,” prioritizing human-to-human moments alongside technology.

Original Description

“Even if you don't need all that many young graduates, you need a good bench.” In the face of AI disruption, DBS Group CEO Tan Su Shan says the bank will continue to hire fresh graduates to nurture future leaders, build on its pool of 10,000 agentic AI agents and continue to anchor on growth markets.

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