Banks with more than $1 trillion in total assets are developing and deploying AI and generative AI at twice the rate of smaller institutions.  

Larger financial institutions are able to spend big bucks on AI development, creating a gulf between them and smaller ones, Alexandra Mousavizadeh, chief executive of data analytics company Evident AI, said during the Evident AI Index Roundtable webinar today.

“If [a bank is] tech mature, they are going to be better placed to bring up productivity and revenue gains and so on” through the implementation of AI, she said. 

JPMorgan Chase, for example, is the largest bank globally in terms of asset size at $3.4 trillion; it ranks No. 1 on the October 2024 Evident AI Index for Banks report. The index, published annually, considers talent, leadership, innovation and transparency in tracking the AI readiness of global banks. 

Rounding out the top five banks in terms of AI readiness are, in order:  

• $490 billion Capital One; 

• $1.4 trillion Royal Bank of Canada; 

• $1.7 trillion Wells Fargo; and 

• $1.2 trillion Commwealth Bank. 

The benchmark “is a very good proxy of where the banks are going to be able to develop and deploy AI for future financial gains,” Mousavizadeh said. 

The report also found: 

• AI talent is a key driver in AI readiness. JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Wells Fargo accounted for nearly 20% of all AI developer hiring this year. 

• Seven of the top 10 AI readiness banks are based in North America. 

• JPMorgan Chase received 38% of AI research patents.  

• The top 50 banks globally filed for 1,110 AI-related patents in 2023, up 44% year over year. 

“The leaders are sucking all the oxygen out of the room” when it comes to AI hiring, which will give large banks an edge in the long term, Colin Gilbert, vice president of intelligence at Evident AI, said during the webinar. 

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