Five banks dominate global AI research in finance

The report, published by benchmarking and intelligence platform Evident, examined more than 2,700 AI-specific research papers from 50 of the world’s largest banks, claims Finextra.

It found that the sector has ramped up its annual AI research output by seven times in the past five years. Since 2019, the number of banks publishing AI research has nearly doubled, rising from 25 to 46 institutions.

Despite this wider participation, most of the progress is still being driven by a select few lenders. In 2024, five banks accounted for 65% of all research output. JPMorgan Chase led with 37% of publications, followed by Capital One with 14%. Wells Fargo, RBC, and TD Bank contributed 5%, 5% and 4% respectively.

Evident highlighted that these research efforts have a direct impact on the products and services being developed. RBC’s ATOM model, which supports lending, and Capital One’s multi-agent systems for customer service were cited as prime examples of how academic research translates into applied solutions.

One of the most notable trends identified is the growing focus on agentic AI research. Papers on AI agents and agent-based systems are now the fifth most popular theme, accounting for almost 6% of year-to-date 2025 publications. This is roughly double the proportion of public agentic use cases Evident has recorded in banking so far, suggesting that institutions are prioritising forward-looking technologies that could reshape customer interactions and decision-making.

Evident CEO Alexandra Mousavizadeh said, “Through their research programmes, banks like JPMorganChase, Capital One, RBC, Wells Fargo, and TD Bank are setting the tone for how AI will be deployed in high-stakes, regulated environments.”

She added, “In contrast to the more commercially-guarded R&D practices of Big Tech, these banks are signalling the future of applied AI in financial services and, most impressively, moving from research pipelines into production at scale within two to three years, which is lightning fast by academic standards.”

The findings suggest that while the banking sector has embraced AI research at a broader level, leadership and direction are still concentrated within a handful of firms that are shaping its trajectory.

Credit source: This article was originally published on Fintech.global