Banks are growing their AI talent headcount twice as fast as their overall headcount growth rate, according to new insights from AI benchmarking and intelligence platform Evident.
According to Evident's AI Talent Capability Dispatch, the total number of AI talent hired by the world's 50 largest banks has increased by 9% in the past six months. This is twice the rate of growth in headcount across the same banks, even as headcount reductions continue.
The proliferation of banking AI talent is primarily driven by the implementation role, which moves AI from planning and development to full operations.
Implementation staff grew by nearly 14% from November 2023 to April 2024, followed by data engineering (+7%), AI development (+5.4%), model risk (+1.8%), and net 68% of new AI talent in the US focused on implementation capabilities compared to just 47.3% in Europe. This dichotomy in AI talent maturity reflects the large gap in AI capabilities between US and European banks, as highlighted by the Evident AI Index.
Alexandra Mousavizadeh (pictured), co-founder and CEO of Evident, commented: . AI is seen as a key strategic priority and, as such, the bank's AI talent pool continues to grow rapidly, helping to offset the impact of continued workforce reduction efforts seen across the broader sector. It doesn't seem to be accepted.
“The main trend we have seen over the past six months is an increase in banking efforts, led by some of the largest banks in the U.S., aimed at making AI a daily reality across their organizations.”
Evident Dispatch leverages the data behind the Evident AI Index, the go-to benchmark for AI in banking, to reveal monthly analysis that tracks 'need-to-know' changes across the industry.
JPMorgan Chase leads the way in terms of AI talent volume, with 5.7 times more AI staff than the average index bank and employing 11.5% of all AI talent, according to the latest Dispatch. . Capital One is the leader in AI talent density, with 12% of its total workforce engaged in AI, which is 4.3 times higher than the average index bank.
The fact that eight of the top 10 banks with AI talent growth over the past six months are already in the top 10 banks by AI talent volume is a testament to the extent to which incumbent bank leaders are looking to strengthen their talent advantage. Evidence points out that it is proven.
However, four European banks (Deutsche Bank, Santander, ING and Lloyds) stand out for the pace at which they are increasing the absolute volume of their overall AI talent, albeit from a lower starting point than the AI talent leaders. Masu.
Deutsche Bank grew its global AI talent capacity by 26.7% (index average: 9%), Santander increased its AI talent density by nearly 10 times the index average, and ING placed Romania third among banks after the Netherlands and Poland Lloyds Banking Group has begun its AI catch-up journey by expanding its data engineering talent capabilities at twice the pace of its UK peers.
Mousavizadeh further added, “Currently, the top 10 banks for AI talent represent 51% of the overall banking industry talent pool, which is a huge advantage when it comes to AI adoption.” This concentration of AI talent has real-world implications. affect. If laggard banks are unable to close the gap, the race to adopt AI will be a tough one. ”
