SMBC Launches AI Venture in Singapore

The time required to open an account could decrease to two days, while loan processing might take five days. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking...

The time required to open an account could decrease to two days, while loan processing might take five days.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.(SMBC) has launched an AI-focused startup in Singapore to accelerate the creation of enterprise AI solutions and draw in talent that conventional banking systems typically find difficult to obtain.

The initiative, initially revealed in June 2025, aims to function with increased autonomy, enabling faster experimentation, testing of automated systems in controlled environments, and avoiding the extended internal procedures typically associated with innovation within large financial organizations.

We are aiming to combine the advantages of both approaches: establishing an independent organization supported and funded by SMBC to draw in skilled individuals, conduct experiments more quickly, and maintain flexibility and responsiveness,Mayoran Rajendra, managing director and head of the AI transformation office at SMBC, statedAsian Banking & Finance.

In contrast to generative AI, which creates content based on prompts, agentic AI is capable of making decisions, performing actions, and handling multi-step tasks with minimal oversight. It can independently work towards intricate goals while reducing the risks typically associated with wide-ranging, open-ended language models.

Rajendra mentioned that this method assists the bank in minimizing uncertainty and variation in processes by breaking down workloads into smaller, clearly outlined steps. "You aren't depending excessively on a large language model (LLM), but rather on the minor, incremental decisions required in a repetitive workflow," he explained through Zoom.

SMBC is initially concentrating on the onboarding of corporate clients and conducting know-your-customer (KYC) assessments. These processes require extensive paperwork and considerable time, particularly for multinational clients utilizing various SMBC services such as loans, trade finance, transfers, and foreign exchange.

In numerous instances, compliance departments need to review 400 to 500 pages of paperwork for one corporate client in order to gather the necessary data points for each region.

Rajendra mentioned that autonomous AI might assume a significant portion of this work by retrieving information, verifying its correctness, and confirming data through various approved sources.

With automation, the time required to open a corporate account could decrease from five days to two, he mentioned. Loan processing, which can take up to approximately seven months depending on the borrower and country-specific regulatory requirements, might be reduced to five days.

Rajendra mentioned that automation would not eliminate human supervision. SMBC structures its agent-based processes in a way that allows staff to always access the specific text or source page where a data point was taken.

He automates much of the repetitive tasks, but we consistently structure it to ensure it remains audit-ready, trackable, and visible," he stated. "There is always a chance that it may not achieve 100% accuracy.

To tackle data-security issues, SMBC ensures that all data handled by AI remains entirely within its internal systems. Confidential information is not sent to external models, nor is it utilized for training public LLMs. "Primarily, we ensure that any data does not go to an LLM for training purposes. It stays within SMBC's premises," Rajendra mentioned.

In addition to AI advancements, SMBC is introducing various tools for business clients, such as complimentary CFO (chief financial officer) dashboards that offer real-time insights into operations via analytics and data visualization. The bank also supports startups in India and Southeast Asia through the SMBC Asia Rising Fund.

Rajendra stated the objective is clear: "We are introducing these AI-driven applications or features to assist our customers in automating their operations."