New research from Evident finds that nearly 80% of 50 major banks it tracks are now engaging with quantum technology. Evident analyzed quantum activity at each bank based on size of quantum talent teams, hiring rate for new talent, patents, investments and public engagement, and found banks currently fall into four tiers:
- Leader: J.P. Morgan
- Fast Follower: HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo
- Very Active: Wells Fargo, BBVA, Standard Chartered, Crédit Mutuel
- Active: Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Citi, CaixaBank, BMO, Santander, Bank of America
Evident’s research also found that:
- J.P. Morgan leads by a wide margin – it accounts for two-thirds of all quantum job postings among tracked banks and has published more than half of all quantum-related research papers. The bank is already seeing value from quantum-inspired algorithms in portfolio optimization and cybersecurity.
- HSBC and European banks are accelerating efforts, with HSBC integrating quantum key distribution (QKD) into FX trading and tokenized gold for future-proof cybersecurity. Intesa Sanpaolo is exploring quantum applications in credit scoring, fraud detection, and derivative pricing.
- Quantum talent is growing – since August, the number of quantum professionals in banking has increased by 10%, and bank-affiliated researchers have published hundreds of quantum papers cited over 3,000 times.
“Unlike AI, which is being embedded across every part of a bank – quantum will transform a specific sub-set of use cases. But where it applies, the impact will be staggering,” says Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident, in a statement. “Rather than incremental improvements, it will completely transform areas such as portfolio optimization, credit scoring and fraud detection far beyond today’s computing capabilities.”
“While quantum computing is still years away from full-scale deployment, banks are laying the groundwork now to gain a competitive edge at the intersection of AI and quantum at this stage. As quantum technology matures, banks that fail to prepare could face both security risks and missed opportunities,” Mousavizadeh said in a statement.