DBS Eyes $1 Trillion in Wealth Assets by 2030 With AI Push
Source: The Straits Times
DBS Bank aims to grow its wealth assets under management to over S$1 trillion by 2030, hiring 600 more staff and embedding AI across customer journeys from onboarding to advisory, as Southeast Asia’s largest bank accelerates its wealth management push.
DBS Bank has set an ambitious target to grow its wealth assets under management to more than S$1 trillion by 2030, leaning heavily on artificial intelligence to transform how it serves clients from mass retail to ultra-high-net-worth. The Singapore lender plans to hire 600 additional front-line advisers and platform engineers across six key markets by 2028 to support the push.
The bank’s wealth AUM hit S$492 billion in Q1 2026, putting it on track to surpass its S$500 billion 2027 target more than a year ahead of schedule. Shee Tse Koon, DBS group head of consumer banking and wealth management, said the bank has seen strong traction with clients parking more of their wealth with the institution. Starting mid-August, retail customers will be able to engage in generative AI-powered conversations via digiWealth, a wealth planning platform built into the DBS digibank app, to become savvier investors.
The AI push goes well beyond chatbots. DBS is embedding generative and agentic AI across every customer touchpoint from onboarding to portfolio advice. The bank was able to onboard around 20 per cent more high-net-worth clients from January to May 2026 compared with the same period last year, as AI reduced screening and profiling time. Sharper personalised advice and faster client access have also driven stronger investment engagement, with more clients diversifying portfolios or taking up new investments.
DBS has assigned personal wealth planning managers to 3.8 million retail customers since 2023, covering roughly eight in ten of its retail base. Reverse inquiries where customers proactively reach out to their wealth planning managers tripled in the first four months of 2026. The bank is also signing ecosystem partnerships with GraniteAsia, Hamilton Lane, JPMorgan, and Franklin Templeton to expand its reach and offer bespoke solutions.
Why it matters for Singapore: DBS’s massive wealth AI bet signals that Singapore’s largest bank sees technology not as a cost-saver but as a competitive weapon in the regional wealth management arms race. With OCBC also rolling out AI avatars and hiring 600 more relationship managers, Singapore’s banking sector is undergoing a structural shift where AI proficiency determines which institutions win the affluent client. For the broader Smart Nation push, DBS’s digiWealth deployment shows how consumer-grade AI is moving beyond trading gimmicks into genuine financial planning tools for everyday Singaporeans.