Financial Services and Asset Management in Securities Markets
AI Talent Race in Investment Banking
The investment banking sector's quest for AI expertise is heating up, with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup leading the charge. Over the past half year, AI vacancies have skyrocketed by a whopping 13%.
It's Paul Clarke reporting, and here's the scoop.
Recruitment Frenzy
In the realm of global banking, AI-focused positions have been on a rollercoaster ride, surging by a massive 12.6-13% between October 2024 and March 2025 – the greatest increase recorded in two years! JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citi stand tall as the top employers in this AI talent gold rush, by bolstering their teams in critical areas:
- AI Model Development (+6%)
- Data Engineering (+14%)
- AI Product Management and Implementation (+42%)
These numbers point to an aggressive push to integrate AI across various business divisions.
Impact on Workforce Makeup
With a staggering one in every 50 banking employees now possessing an AI-centric role, it's safe to say that AI is no longer an afterthought in banking. While overall employment numbers have witnessed a 3% decline over the past two years, AI roles have steadily increased, swelling to around 80,000 positions in March 2025 – up from approximately 60,000 in September 2023.
Strategic Intentions
These banking giants are investing heavily in AI talent to achieve the following objectives:
- Amplify Successful Use Cases like fraud detection and customized wealth management.
- Quantify AI's Return on Investment through meticulous assessments of deployment outcomes.
- Construct enterprise-wide AI infrastructure by hiring platform engineers and project managers.
Research by Evident shows that these recruitment efforts are closely tied to banks' capacity to execute effective AI strategies. Top performers, such as JPMorgan, have disclosed more use cases and ROI statistics than their counterparts.
- JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citi are significantly increasing their recruitment efforts in AI-focused positions, with a surge of 12.6-13% between October 2024 and March 2025.
- In the AI talent gold rush, these banking giants are especially bolstering their teams in critical areas such as AI model development, data engineering, and AI product management and implementation.
- The integration of AI across various business divisions is becoming aggressive, with one in every 50 banking employees now holding an AI-centric role – a steep increase from approximately 60,000 positions in September 2023 to around 80,000 in March 2025.
- The strategic intentions behind these recruitment efforts include amplifying successful use cases like fraud detection and customized wealth management, quantifying AI's return on investment through meticulous assessments, and constructing enterprise-wide AI infrastructure by hiring platform engineers and project managers.
