Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

AI Maturity Race: How Banks Are Competing for Pole Position

JPMorgan Chase's president and COO, Daniel Pinto, announced this year that artificial intelligence-driven initiatives were yielding up to $2 billion in annual value for the bank. This achievement marked JPMorgan's AI dominance, signaling to competitors that it had secured its leadership position in the AI race. As global banks responded, one fact became clear: AI mastery would determine which institutions shape the future of the banking financial services and insurance sector.

The 2024 Evident AI Index evaluated the AI maturity of 50 major banks across North America, Europe and Asia, measuring their performance across four pillars: Talent, innovation, leadership and transparency. This comprehensive assessment shows each bank's strengths, operational transformations and strategic decisions in harnessing AI's potential.

Banks are embracing AI beyond technological advancement. They are redefining priorities, modernizing legacy systems and building AI-ready teams across complex environments. This evolution shows both competition and collaboration within the sector, defining banking's next chapter.

The Evident AI Index: Unveiling the New Banking Powerhouses

In today's financial landscape, a bank's AI leadership influences both its reputation and revenue. But what distinguishes true AI pioneers from those merely adopting the latest trends? The Evident AI Index answers this question, providing detailed insights into each bank's AI maturity through the four key pillars.

These metrics differentiate banks that embed AI from those superficially exploring this technology:

• Talent: This pillar measures banks' AI engineering teams, data scientists and specialists who convert data into strategic advantages. Capital One's concentrated AI talent density provides agility, enabling the bank to innovate rapidly. U.S. banks dominate this space, holding four of the five top positions. Within the AI development capability area, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Capital One employ 17.5% of the talent pool.
• Innovation: This encompasses patents and research programs. JPMorgan Chase generates 35% of all banking AI research, leading in value creation using AI. Nearly 24 banks hold AI-specific patents. The past year saw 1,110 new AI patents published with index banks as assignees.
• Leadership: This metric examines executive AI commitment through measurable outcomes. JPMorgan's multi-billion-dollar AI value sets the standard for results-driven implementation.
• Transparency: As AI raises ethical questions, transparency measures each bank's dedication to responsible AI, or RAI. CommBank and RBC established new standards, addressing public concerns about AI ethics.

The index reveals how banks position themselves for an AI-driven future where technology powers both profitability and trust, shaping tomorrow's industry leaders.

Top 10 Banks: A Journey Through the AI Maturity Race

In the AI maturity race, global banks are transforming their operations, integrating technology and refining strategies to maximize AI's potential.

1. JPMorgan Chase: Leading All the Way: With its $17 billion annual tech budget, JPMorgan maintained AI leadership across the index. Its AI programs span from fraud detection to operational excellence. Combining 8.5% of the industry's AI talent with advanced research capabilities, JPMorgan's strategy reinforces its evolution into an AI-powered organization.
2. Capital One: The Agile Challenger: Distinguished by its lean but skilled AI workforce, Capital One's specialized talent pool enables breakthrough innovation. Unlike JPMorgan's broad approach, Capital One emphasizes agility, using cloud-based, AI-first infrastructure to accelerate solutions.
3. Royal Bank of Canada: A Quiet Powerhouse: Through its Borealis AI lab, RBC drives AI transformation with precision. RBC's research-driven approach to AI provides advantages against larger competitors.
4. Wells Fargo: Banking on Innovation: Wells Fargo prioritizes AI foundation-building, investing in human capital and maintaining robust AI staffing. While immediate AI outcomes remain measured, its strategy focuses on establishing the groundwork for AI-powered products.
5. CommBank: The APAC Pioneer: Leading Asia-Pacific's AI transformation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia prioritizes responsible AI, balancing ethical considerations with technological progress. Its partnerships and transparency initiatives demonstrate commitment to public trust in the AI era.
6. UBS: Making Open Innovation Work: UBS champions open-source innovation with academic and industry partnerships. Its rising AI maturity ranking reflects success in creating shared value across the financial ecosystem.
7. HSBC: The Ethics Champion: HSBC established leadership in ethical AI practices by doubling its RAI expertise and supporting initiatives like the Veritas consortium. This commitment shapes HSBC's comprehensive AI strategy.
8. Citigroup: AI for Global Reach: Building an extensive patent portfolio, Citi advances its worldwide AI reach. Although early in implementation, Citi's research investment positions it for accelerated progress.
9. TD Bank: Punching Above Its Weight: TD Bank focuses on RAI through regional hub partnerships, prioritizing ethical frameworks and accountability. Its approach shows how clear ethical principles elevate AI maturity, independent of bank size.
10. Morgan Stanley: The Late Bloomer: Entering the AI race strategically, Morgan Stanley focuses on wealth management applications. Tools like AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant and AskResearchGPT demonstrate their targeted approach to AI implementation.

Can Capital One Upstage JPMorgan Chase?

Capital One emerged as a formidable challenger to JPMorgan's AI leadership. Its distinctive approach to talent concentration and technological agility enables swift innovation, which is supported by early Amazon Web Services adoption and specialized AI teams. Yet Capital One faces key challenges in transparency and visibility - areas where JPMorgan excels.

While JPMorgan reported $2 billion in AI-generated value, Capital One provides limited insight into its AI-driven returns. This communication gap leaves analysts seeking concrete performance metrics. JPMorgan's executives also consistently highlight AI strategy, while Capital One could strengthen investor confidence through enhanced leadership visibility.

With increasing regulatory oversight, RAI presents Capital One's next challenge. Without published RAI guidelines, Capital One risks falling behind JPMorgan's established ethical standards. Despite proven agility, Capital One's AI leadership aspirations depend on addressing transparency and responsibility requirements.

AI Maturity in Banking: A Road Map to the Future

As banks compete for AI leadership, each confronts unique opportunities and obstacles. JPMorgan Chase and RBC demonstrate research-driven success, while Capital One proves institutional size does not determine innovation potential. The index confirms that AI maturity requires vision, ethics, and transparency.

Banks that sustain leadership will define financial services' evolution and establish benchmarks for responsible AI deployment serving customers, shareholders and society. AI transcends competitive advantage to become essential for resilience, innovation and trust in digital banking's future.