Last year's US tech grads had barely seen their mortarboards hit the ground before they were inundated with job offers from Wall Street's biggest banks. It's fair to say that their colleagues across the Atlantic have taken a more relaxed approach to acquiring the skills needed to handle the AI boom.
However, it seems that Europe's financial centers are starting to understand the need for AI talent.
The latest assessment of the banking sector's AI capabilities shows that UK banks have accelerated hiring compared to their rivals.
According to consultancy Evident, the number of AI roles listed by UK banks grew by 12% in the first three months of 2024, faster than both Europe and the US.
Deutsche Bank and Santander are driving European demand for AI-savvy workers, with Barclays, HSBC, and BNP Paribas also investing in AI talent. Between October 2023 and April 2024, HSBC posted 30% more AI vacancies than other European banks.
Evident's AI Index tracks banks' success in using technology through measures of talent, innovation, leadership, and transparency. Its latest index shows that only one European bank, UBS, is among the top 10 global banks for AI readiness.
Objectors will point out that Credit Suisse's emergency takeover of the bank results in a placement with pooled resources.
“After a brutal wave of layoffs, AI investments are seen as a panacea by banks to get the productivity gains they need from the rest of their workforce,” Evident co-founder and CEO Alexandra Mousavizadeh said in a statement. will allow to obtain.”
American head start
The narrative of US banks outpacing their UK and European peers is a well-worn one, just as its tech companies are outpacing their cross-Atlantic rivals in the AI boom.
Addressing. good fortune At his AI symposium in June, Evident's Mosavizadeh said that US banks made a conscious decision to be “AI-first” at the start of a big tech breakthrough. It continues to create labs, publish research, hire a dedicated AI team.
It has also sparked an arms race among US banks to secure the best talent. Goldman Sachs was an early loser in the fight as the company saw 60 people jump ship, along with Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.
Mousavizada says there was also a big push to recruit talent directly from universities.
Europe, on the other hand, has historically been less comfortable with the crossover between the tech and finance sectors than the US, says Nigel Moden, head of financial services banking and capital markets for EMEIA at EY.
It can also be difficult to convince a computer science student to take the leap into finance and abandon the path taken by the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
However, the latest figures suggest this is changing, with the UK gradually closing the initial gap created by the states.
EY's Moden predicts that large-scale deployment of AI in Europe will approach the end of 2025 as banks work out the regulatory environment.
Ultimately, it may not be a bad thing that the UK lagged behind the US in the early days of the AI boom.
Moden doesn't yet see a big difference in US banks' AI skills, suggesting they're just engaging in large-scale experimentation—something that could give UK companies their chance to hunt down the future. can
“If you're HSBC, or Barclays, or ING, then trying to hire someone who's had a few years with a US bank to learn the trade might not be a bad strategy,” said EY's Moden. “