Given the increasing sophistication of digital channels and other client-facing innovations, how do you maintain an equilibrium between high-touch client services and cutting edge technologies?

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, global private banks are in fierce competition to deliver superior client experiences and operational efficiency. At the same time, client needs and regulatory demands are becoming increasingly complex. Relying solely on traditional service models risks leaving relationship managers (RMs) unable to adequately meet client needs. This approach would fall short of client expectations for convenient digital solutions and would be unsustainable from a cost perspective.

Maintaining a balance between high-touch service and cutting-edge technology is therefore essential. Our ‘phygital’ approach enables our RMs to serve more clients, while providing greater value through AI-augmented insights, dynamic portfolio optimisation, and personalised advisory – without losing the personal touch that clients expect. Clients can choose their preferred engagement channel, whether digital or in-person, for transactions and account management, while we use technology to enhance their overall experience and convenience.

By leveraging AI and technology effectively, our ‘phygital’ model ensures our RMs are attuned to our clients’ needs. This allows us to anticipate their needs and provide personalised, forward-looking insights and actionable nudges that cut through the clutter – something our clients truly appreciate.

Our RMs are also well-trained on ‘nudging’ clients and provide forward-looking advice. They make sure a client knows ahead of time what they need to know and do, be it to optimise their portfolio risk/return or conduct an FX trade. They are also provided with a host of individual prompts on their workbench, which allows them to connect with clients at the right time. We also offer a comprehensive training programme to ensure our teams stay up-to-date with the latest system capabilities and best practices.

In sum, our ‘phygital’ approach blends the best of digital convenience with the personal touch of human expertise and service, helping us build stronger relationships and consistently deliver high-quality experiences for our clients.

Virtual assets (VA) have increasingly gained attention among some wealthy individuals and families. How prepared is your bank to capture potential opportunities in this space in terms of necessary infrastructures to support VA-related transactions? And do you have any plan to enhance your VA-related service in 2025?

Asia is undergoing a private wealth boom, with wealthy investors from around the world moving their assets to the region. These investors increasingly view digital assets as a viable alternative asset class and often seek exposure through trusted financial institutions. DBS has been a beneficiary of this trend. Last year, we saw trading volumes on DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) grow four times year-on-year.

Institutions, family offices and HNWIs, especially those that have built their wealth outside of the digital assets space, mainly focus on blue chip crypto tokens. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for over 90% of last year’s trading volume on DDEx, where we only serve qualifying institutional and accredited investors. Investors who don’t want to directly manage cryptocurrencies can build exposure through ETF structured notes instead.

We anticipate continued interest in virtual assets among our wealth clients. Since launching DDEX in 2021, we are well-positioned to help our clients capitalise on this opportunity, with a robust and secure platform already in place for trading and custody of these digital assets. Beyond that, we are laser-focused on client convenience. Our app offers seamless, round-the-clock trading, direct conversion of virtual assets to fiat currency, and a consolidated portfolio view that includes both digital and traditional assets. This integrated approach delivers a unique value proposition, setting us apart from typical cryptocurrency exchanges. More importantly, our DDEX digital exchange represents one of the first efforts by a bank to provide not only a platform for the custody of digital assets but also integrate these assets into legacy planning.

In 2024, we introduced structured products and options on cryptocurrencies, as well as more sophisticated investment strategies. We will continue to expand our offerings in 2025, and to further enhance the client experience and broaden our digital asset shelf.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has both promises and challenges for the private banking industry. What are some of the AI use cases in your bank over the past year? How has AI been helping the bank to improve operational efficiency? What are some of the pain points banks need to overcome in AI implementation? What’s your plan for AI adaptations in 2025?

Artificial intelligence holds transformative potential for private banking. Over the past year, we’ve introduced several AI-driven solutions to enhance our operations. For example, we have started using generative AI tools to create personalised investment recommendations and client reports, allowing our bankers and investment counsellors to focus on higher-value tasks and more complex client needs. We’ve also implemented generative AI for advanced adverse news screening and information summarisation, improving the speed and accuracy of qualifying alerts.

Another key development is the integration of our DBS-GPT-powered search solution into our private banking processes. This tool provides our employees with a centralised access point to help them with content generation and writing tasks in a secure environment, as well as role-based information retrieval, offering personalised results, AI-generated answers, and seamless connections to procedures and relevant data. Our pilot has shown positive results, particularly in tasks such as checking client documentation requirements and ensuring consistency with procedures. We are in fact, preparing to roll it out across all teams so that all can enjoy these efficiencies.

These AI initiatives have significantly boosted productivity and operational efficiency. However, challenges remain, including data sourcing, resource allocation, and development timelines. Addressing risks such as “hallucinations” (AI generating inaccurate information) is also a priority. To mitigate these, we’ve implemented guardrails in line with our group-wide architecture for data management and AI solution deployment, incorporating reusable components and a centralised knowledge base. Additionally, we’ve implemented safeguards against hallucinations, such as a plug-and-play system for selecting the most suitable large language models (LLMs), and we focus on “Design for Dialogue” to facilitate dynamic human-AI interaction.

Looking ahead to 2025, our AI strategy will focus on expanding the use of generative AI across various processes. We continue to explore new developments around generative AI as a technology, like the possible applications of agentic AI. We will continue embedding AI into our workflows to enhance decision-making, improve efficiency, and elevate the client experience. This strategic approach will reinforce our position as a leader in AI-augmented private banking, driving superior client service and operational excellence.