Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS Group Holdings Ltd., speaks at the Singapore Fintech Festival in Singapore on November 12, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Amid fears of an artificial intelligence bubble, much has been made of recent reports suggesting that AI is yet to generate returns for companies investing billions in adopting the technology.
But that's not what the chief executive of Southeast Asia's largest bank sees – she says her company is already reaping the rewards of its AI initiatives, and this is just the beginning.
“It's not hope. It's now. It's already happening. And it's going to get better,” DBS CEO Tan Su Shan told CNBC on the sidelines of Singapore Fintech Week when asked about the prospects of AI adoption.
DBS has been working to implement artificial intelligence across its bank for over a decade, which has helped prepare its internal data analytics for the latest waves of generative and agent-based AI.
Agentic AI is a type of artificial intelligence that relies on data to proactively make independent decisions, plan and execute tasks autonomously, with minimal human supervision.
Tan expected The adoption of AI will bring DBS a total revenue increase of more than 1 billion Singapore dollars (approximately US$768 million) this year, compared to 750 million Singapore dollars in 2024. This assessment is based on approximately 370 AI use cases based on over 1,500 models across the company.
“The proliferation of generative AI has been transformative for us,” Tan said, adding that the company is experiencing a “snowball effect” of benefits thanks to machine learning.
One key area where DBS has deployed AI is in its financial services for institutional clients, using AI to collect and use data for clients to better contextualize and personalize offerings.
Tan says this has resulted in “faster and more resilient” teams. The CEO believes this use of AI has contributed to a recent increase in the bank's deposit growth compared to its competitors.
The company also recently launched a new, improved AI-powered corporate banking assistant called “DBS Joy,” which provides 24/7 support to customers with customized corporate banking queries.
Concerns about ROI
Despite Tan's strong belief in AI, current evidence suggests that many companies are struggling to convert their AI investments into tangible profits.
MIT released a report in July that found that 95% of 300 publicly announced AI initiatives, representing $30 billion to $40 billion in generative AI investments, had failed to generate real returns.
However, at least in the banking sector, there are signs that the tide is turning.
While DBS does not differentiate its generative AI spending from other internal investments, other major banks have recently offered this comparison.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg TV last month that the bank had already broken even on its annual investment in AI adoption of about $2 billion. This is “just the tip of the iceberg,” he added.
These expectations are shared by DBS, which plans to further accelerate its AI development to become an AI-powered bank.
The ultimate goal, according to Tan, is for its generative AI to evolve into a trusted financial advisor for customers, including retail users, who are expected to interact with personalized AI agents through the DBS banking app.
The bank already has more than 100 AI algorithms that analyze users' data to give them personalized “nudges”, such as: B. Incoming shortage alerts, product recommendations, and other insights.
Continuous AI investments
While DBS may already be benefiting from AI adoption, Tan acknowledged that further investment will be required, not just in capital but also in the time needed to retrain employees.
The company has launched several cross-departmental AI reskilling initiatives this year and even deployed a generative AI-powered coaching tool to support these efforts.
This will help the company automate day-to-day work and focus its employees on building and maintaining personal relationships with customers rather than reducing headcount, Tan said.
“We're not freezing new hires, but it's retraining. And that's a journey. It's a never-ending journey… a constant evolution.”