Kasikornbank (KBank) plans to implement the second phase of the K-Transformation programme for the next three years to focus on improving human resource development for the digital era.
The transformation programme will mainly concentrate on improving staff productivity and business potential in tandem with the new S-curve growth as well as lowering operation costs, said Ruangroj Poonpol, chairman at Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG), the bank's technology subsidiary.
As part of the second phase of the scheme, KBTG plans to allocate a digital development budget of 5 billion baht for next year.
Given improving business efficiency under digital development, KBTG can save on operations costs by 500-600 million baht per year from the total investment budget, using the savings for reinvestment, he said.
Apart from digital infrastructure development, KBank will further invest in human resources, a key asset that drives business growth, said Mr Ruangroj.
"Reskilling and upskilling existing staff is necessary for transitioning to digital banking, while KBank Group also plans to recruit new employees to support business expansion regionally," he said.
KBank, the country's largest lender by total assets, has the most users in the industry for a mobile banking app, with 14 million users on K-Plus. The company targets 15 million by year-end and with regional market expansion, up to 100 million users eventually.
Under the AEC+3 strategy covering Asean countries and China, Japan and South Korea, the bank set up a development hub in Vietnam and Shenzhen, China.
The development hubs support KBank's digital development and can explore new S-curve business opportunities across the region.
The hub in Shenzhen is registered as a fintech firm, named K-Tech China, with registered capital of 300 million yuan or 1.5 billion baht. K-Tech China plans to employ around 300 staff.
Mr Ruangroj said KBTG also plans to recruit 1,500 staff by year-end 2020, up from 1,200, and targets 1,900 employees by 2025.
Other SET-listed financial institutions have also embarked on beefing up their technological development to prepare for stiff competition in the digital age.
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) co-president Arak Sutivong, who is also a chief executive at the bank's technology subsidiary, SCB 10X, said the bank will continue executing the SCB-Transformation programme that began in 2016.
The bank has developed digital infrastructure in preparation for digital banking business expansion in the long term. In the initial stage, it built up a big data system, developed mobile banking app SCB Easy and set up several tech-related subsidiaries including Digital Ventures, SCB 10X and SCB Abacus.
Krungthai Bank (KTB), meanwhile, set up a technology subsidiary last week, named Infinitas By Krungthai, to develop a digital banking platform and innovation.
The new tech subsidiary aims to support KTB's strategy for virtual digital banking services and adopting a new business model.