HSBC to hire 100 AI specialists, 100 wealth managers in boost to Singapore hub

HONG KONG, July 27 (Reuters) - HSBC will hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists and 100 wealth managers in Singapore, deepening investment in two areas central to the bank's Asian growth strategy as it expands higher-fee businesses and accelerates AI adoption.

The announcement come as HSBC moves to launch a new AI centre in Singapore in the second half of 2026, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

The banking group's Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said in May that AI would destroy and create certain jobs in the financial industry, and that the bank was retraining its workforce to meet the challenge.

HSBC said it would recruit talent across natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design. The centre will initially focus on personalising customer wealth management conversations, introducing agentic treasury solutions, and expanding AI-enabled digital payments.

Rival Standard Chartered announced in May that its AI transformation would eliminate about 8,000 jobs internally.

HSBC is also looking to boost its local wealth management operation by adding another 100 relationship managers, a company spokesperson said.

The bank last week agreed to sell its life and health insurance business in Singapore to Allianz for S$2.7 billion ($2.1 billion), as it trims non-core operations and focuses on its Asian wealth and wholesale banking businesses.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Saad Sayeed)