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The full digital bank created by the Grab-Singtel consortium will hire around 200 employees in Singapore by the end of next year to build a strong banking infrastructure.
To date, between 10 and 15 percent of the positions in the digital bank have been filled.
Banking veteran Charles Wong, who led Citibank Singapore’s retail banking until February this year, has been appointed CEO of the digital bank. The Business Times Wong’s move to Grab was reported in March after more than 20 years at Citibank.
The digital bank will focus on serving consumers and small businesses. First, it will target young PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), gig workers with flexible incomes and small and medium-sized micro-businesses, he said.
The consortium aims to formally launch the bank in early 2022 and aims to build a “sustainable business” focused on offering Singaporeans personalized, affordable and reliable financial products, said Mr. Wong.
It will seek to recruit in the areas of product, data, technology, risk, finance and compliance, Grab and Singtel said in a statement late Friday. Key functions have been fulfilled in some of these areas, such as cyber, data, and product security.
The consortium will also open more roles related to technology and fintech, for which it will train and equip Singaporeans. This would require skill sets in cyber and information security, data science and analytics, as well as technology engineering, he said.
Grab and Singtel first formed a consortium in December 2019 to apply for the license. Grab has a 60 percent stake; while Singtel has 40 percent.
Mr. Wong added that it is “really rare” to have the opportunity to develop a digital bank from scratch.
He said: “Customers in multiple segments, including the underserved and unbanked, will be able to meet their financial needs seamlessly, thanks to our next-generation data platform and cloud technology.”
Mr. Wong spent nearly five years at his previous job at Citibank Singapore, and was credited with achieving a strong turnaround in the business, leading the unit to generate consistent double-digit growth.
Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab, said: “The digital bank will advance our goal of empowering more people to gain better control of their money and achieve better financial outcomes for themselves, their businesses and their families.
Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group Designated Chief Executive Officer, agreed: “We have the assets and synergies to make banking more accessible and intuitive.
“As a local company, we look forward to contributing to this exciting digital era of finance for Singapore that will drive greater value creation, develop new careers and develop a strong Singaporean core of fintech talent for the industry.”
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