Last year, fresh graduates of U. S. tech programs received an overwhelming number of job offers from major Wall Street banks almost immediately after their graduation. In contrast, their counterparts in Europe took a more laid-back approach to acquiring the necessary talent to manage the current AI boom. However, it appears that Europe's financial centers are starting to recognize the importance of AI talent. The latest review of the banking sector's AI capabilities reveals that U. K. banks have significantly ramped up their hiring efforts, surpassing their European and U. S. competitors. According to consultancy Evident, the number of AI job openings listed by U. K. banks surged by 12% in the first quarter of 2024, outpacing both the rest of Europe and the U. S. Deutsche Bank and Santander are driving the demand for AI-savvy workers in Europe, with Barclays, HSBC, and BNP Paribas also investing in AI talent. HSBC, in particular, posted 30% more AI vacancies than other European banks between October 2023 and April 2024. Evident's AI index evaluates banks' success in utilizing AI through measures of talent, innovation, leadership, and transparency. The latest index reveals that only one European bank, UBS, is among the top 10 global banks in terms of AI readiness. Critics may argue that this positioning is a result of merged resources following the bank's emergency takeover of Credit Suisse. "After a wave of severe layoffs, banks view AI investment as the remedy to achieve the necessary productivity gains from their remaining workforce, " stated Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and CEO of Evident. The narrative of U. S. banks taking the lead over their U. K. and European counterparts is a well-established story, as is the dominance of U. S. tech companies in the field of AI. Speaking at Fortune's AI Symposium in June, Mousavizadeh mentioned that U. S.

banks made a deliberate decision to prioritize AI early on. This resulted in the establishment of AI labs, research publications, and dedicated hiring teams. This has generated fierce competition among U. S. banks to secure the best AI talent. Goldman Sachs, in particular, suffered significant losses as 60 individuals left to join firms like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Mousavizadeh also noted a strong focus on recruiting directly from universities. Meanwhile, Nigel Moden, EY's financial services banking and capital markets leader for EMEIA, stated that Europe has traditionally been less comfortable with the intersection of technology and finance compared to the U. S. Convincing computer science students to enter the financial sector instead of following the paths of figures like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg can be a challenge. However, the latest data suggests that the situation is changing as the U. K. gradually closes the initial gap created by the U. S. Moden predicts that Europe's major AI deployment will occur closer to the end of 2025, once banks have figured out the regulatory landscape. Ultimately, the fact that the U. K. initially lagged behind the U. S. in the AI boom may not be detrimental. Moden does not currently perceive a significant disparity in AI proficiency among U. S. banks, suggesting that they are primarily engaged in large-scale experimentation. This could potentially offer U. K. companies an opportunity to attract talent in the future. "If you're HSBC, Barclays, or ING, trying to recruit individuals with a few years of experience in a large U. S. bank to learn their trade might not be a bad strategy, " said Moden from EY.