A new report, based on the AI index developed by Evident, the AI benchmarking and intelligence platform, indicates a surge of AI talent growth in US and European banks during the last six months.
Evident's AI Talent Capability Dispatch unveils that AI talent headcount at 50 of the world's biggest banks grew by 9% in the past six months, marking double the rate of growth compared to overall headcount across the same banks amidst ongoing layoffs. Most notably, this rise in AI expertise is chiefly driven by roles aimed at transitioning AI from a planning stage to full production implementation.
AI implementation staffing increased nearly 14% between November 2023 and April 2024. Other areas, such as Data Engineering, witnessed a +7% growth, AI Development +5.4% growth, and Model Risk +1.8% growth. Around 68% of new AI talent in the US is focusing on Implementation capabilities, as opposed to only 47.3% in Europe. This split reflects a broader gap in AI capability between US and European financial institutions, according to the Evident AI Index.
Alexandra Mousavizadeh, Evident Co-Founder and CEO, states: "AI is starting to move from the lab to the front office, with the leading banks focusing on finding the right talent to implement AI and make it work for the bottom line. AI is viewed as a critical strategic priority, which is why the banks' AI talent volumes continue to grow at pace, seemingly immune from the ongoing reduction in force initiatives seen across the wider sector."
She continues: "The key trend we've seen over the past six months is the growth in banking roles designed to make AI a day-to-day, organisation-wide reality, led by some of the leading US banks."
JPMorgan Chase is leading in terms of the volume of AI talent, with 5.7x more AI staff than the average Index bank and employing 11.5% of all AI talent. Capital One leads for AI talent density, with 12% of the overall headcount working on AI, 4.3x higher than the average Index bank.
Four European banks stood out for the speed of their AI growth. Deutsche Bank grew its global AI talent capability by 26.7%, while Santander increased AI talent density by nearly 10x the index average. Similarly, ING established Romania as the bank's third-largest AI talent hub, following the Netherlands and Poland. Lloyds Banking Group began improving their AI by expanding Data Engineering talent capabilities twice as much as its immediate UK peers.
Mousavizadeh offers a final thought: "The top 10 banks for AI talent currently account for 51% of the overall banking industry talent pool—a significant advantage when it comes to AI adoption. This concentration of AI talent carries real consequences. If the banks lagging behind can't close the gap, the race to implement AI will be an uphill struggle."
