INDUSTRY: BANKING
Digitalisation creeping into non-tech roles as Singapore banks accelerate hiring
The sector will continue in a “reform and transform” path, hinging on successful digital banking applicants.
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ith Singapore’s banking sector expected to ramp up its hiring efforts from the second quarter of 2021, the industry is likely to see a shift in job responsibilities and necessary skills. Most notably, digitalisation is gradually being integrated throughout financial service organisations, even into normally non-tech roles. Spurred by the pandemic, banks have overhauled their strategies to focus on developing and strengthening their digital capabilities. A Randstad Singapore study noted that as the year progresses, banks will likely only continue to go into a “reform and transform” path, taking into account the success of numerous digital banking licence applicants in 2020. In line with this, people with expertise in data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and systems architecture will be in high demand, noted Dean Tong, head of group human resources at UOB. He says those who are capable of boosting a bank’s operating performance and system capabilities will be extensively wooed. Remarking that the hiring acceleration, particularly in technology roles, had been taking place even before the pandemic, he said that the digital shift had also brought new challenges to the forefront. Issues such as cybersecurity are ones that banks will have to quickly mitigate to ensure the resilience of their systems and the sector as a whole. “Growing consumer expectations for progressive banking solutions are also driving banks to innovate at an even faster pace today, especially as more consumers have become comfortable with transacting and investing online.” The fast recoveries seen in wealth management, bancassurance, personal banking, as well as insurance, have helped counteract the adverse impacts of risk aversion during the pandemic, Randstad said. In particular, relationship managers have become more adept in providing remote financial advisory services through the use of digital dashboards and data analytics. These are able to provide a holistic overview of clients’ accounts. “In 2021, we will see a further expansion of digital mobilisation in wealth and bancassurance to capture opportunities that occur throughout the life cycle of customers’ investment and financing needs,” the report explained. HSBC Singapore head of human resources Brandon Coate echoed this observation, explaining in an interview that they anticipated that those with wealth and consumer banking backgrounds, as well as exposure to digital platforms, will be in high demand in the next three to five years. “This will cut across the front office to support functions like compliance, finance and audit due to supervision by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and also importantly, technology,” he said. The bank hopes to double its wealth and private banking 24
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | DECEMBER 2021
Digitalisation is gradually being integrated even into normally non-tech roles
business in Singapore. Coate highlighted that since 2018, the segment had seen double-digit annualised growth rates in total wealth balances and bigger frontline wealth teams, including both retail and private banking relationship managers and investment specialists. But even with the influx of digital options available today, UOB still recognises the need of their clients for a human touch, says Tong. “We know that for banking services such as wealth advisory or business financing, our customers still prefer to speak with their bankers. As such, we are continually building our team of wealth advisers and relationship managers, especially those who are adept in using data and digital tools to serve our customers better.” Singapore’s goal of becoming Asia’s wealth management hub will also mean more job opportunities for compliance services within the private banking and fund management segments, Randstad noted. Within the investment banking segment, there will be more hiring opportunities, even though the IPO and M&A segments have been relatively stifled, Randstad noted. Sectors and firms that are primarily focused on technology, e-commerce, healthcare, and environmentally sustainable financing are poised to accept new talent. In 2021, we will see further expansion of digital mobilisation in wealth and bancassurance throughout the life cycle of customers’ investment and financing needs
Skills and job security Fintech skills also have significant demand, in areas such as AI and machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA), the internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity, application programming interface, and design thinking, Coate noted. Coate also opined that AI will be a complement and not a replacement for human employees. Banks should invest in AI as aid to the transactional aspect of the business that lets machine learning and RPA take place. AI should be utilised on more routine- and process-heavy operations and direct resources should be placed on more complex operations that require human personnel, he explained.
