Evident’s AI index has ranked the banks leading in artificial intelligence (AI) maturity, showing that
J.P. Morgan has retained its position. In a year of relentless AI activity across the banking industry, all 50 banks listed have ramped up their adoption efforts, with 80% improving their performance since 2023.
According to Evident, the world’s biggest banks see AI adoption as fundamental to their future growth, productivity, and financial performance. They are investing in AI use cases across every area of their business – from customer service to analyst productivity to fraud prevention – to try and maximise their competitive advantage.
The annual Evident AI Index evaluates the ongoing AI performance of 50 major banks in North America, Europe, and APAC against 90 indicators drawn from millions of public data points.
Top performers
This year’s top three AI performers – J.P. Morgan, Capital One and Royal Bank of Canada – have retained their rankings from 2023 by continuing to develop and implement AI at breakneck speed, doubling down on hiring, partnerships and in-house innovation to stay ahead of the field.
There are three new entrants in the top 10: HSBC, the first UK-headquartered bank to feature in the top 10, Canada’s TD Bank, and Morgan Stanley, the first time the US institution has appeared on the leaderboard.
UBS maintains its overall position as the leading AI bank in Europe, largely driven by its strong performance in Talent where the bank ranks 3rd overall.
Notably, the top 10 banks for AI adoption are currently improving 2X faster than the rest of the field. The increase in industry-wide activity is also significant, especially given the number of AI use cases being reported by the banks – moving from a handful of use cases in production last year to 300+ new applications coming into public view.
Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident, said in a statement: “AI has the potential to reshape and transform how the big banks do business, and we’ve seen a frenzy of AI activity and investment across the global banking industry in 2024.
“All the banks are stepping up their AI efforts, and competition amongst the leaders is intensifying, with several powerhouse institutions making gains as they address the potential for AI to deliver a ‘winner takes all’ advantage that could forever change the face of the industry.”
Annabel Ayles, Evident co-founder and co-CEO said in a statement: “JPMorganChase is unquestionably still the bank to beat when it comes to AI maturity. The pace of its AI adoption is remarkable for an organization of its size and scale.
“All of the top 10 banks improved their AI performance in 2024, but there were several standout performers that went at breakneck pace to try and narrow the gap – from CommBank in Australia to HSBC in the UK.
“The rise of HSBC and Morgan Stanley show that it’s still possible for banks that have been slower out of the gates on AI to catch up and even overtake the field. The race for AI adoption is far from run, but there’s a growing gap between the leaders and the rest of the field. The lower ranking institutions need to pick up the pace if they wish to go the distance.”
Teresa Heitsenrether, chief data & analytics officer at J.P. Morgan, said in a statement: “AI is transforming how we work at JPMorganChase and has become an increasingly core component of our business strategy. We are proud that our long-term investment in AI talent, insights and solutions has been recognized as industry leading for the third consecutive year. As AI adoption continues to accelerate, the Evident AI Index reflects the growing strategic importance of AI in financial services.”