OCBC's Private Bank Deploys AI to Halve Wealth Client Onboarding Time

Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), has deployed an agentic AI platform to significantly accelerate the onboarding process for its high-net-worth clients. The new system, named HELIOS, is designed to reduce the time for opening new accounts from more than 30 business days to just 15, according to a Reuters report.

Streamlining Due Diligence

The HELIOS platform enhances efficiency by streamlining the critical due diligence processes for the bank's relationship managers. It automates the gathering of essential data, client information, and the assessment of credit risk profiles, which are traditionally time-intensive tasks.

This automation allows relationship managers to focus on higher-value advisory services rather than administrative work. According to Loretta Yuen, OCBC’s head of group legal and compliance, the platform is intended to "enhance and boost client onboarding, and in turn, therefore create business growth."

Phased Rollout and Expansion

The platform has been in a phased rollout over the past five months. Key details of the deployment include:

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• Approximately 25% of Bank of Singapore’s relationship managers, numbering over 100, are already using HELIOS across its Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai offices.
• Around 50 clients have been fully onboarded using the new system, Bank of Singapore CEO Jason Moo told the media on Wednesday.
• A full rollout across Bank of Singapore is anticipated by the third quarter of this year.

The technology will subsequently be extended to OCBC’s Premier Private Client segment by the end of the year, broadening its application within the group's wealth management operations.

Context: The Banking AI Arms Race

OCBC's initiative is part of a broader trend among major financial institutions to integrate advanced AI into their operations to improve efficiency and client services. The move comes just after OCBC's larger Singaporean competitor, DBS, announced its own enhanced generative and agentic AI capabilities for its virtual assistants, which are expected to reach over 10 million users.