JPMorgan Tops Evident AI Bank Index for Fifth Straight Year as Industry Deployment Accelerates

JPMorgan Chase ranked first on the Evident AI Index for Banks for the fifth consecutive year, released Tuesday, as AI adoption across the 50 assessed lenders advanced at nearly triple the rate of the prior three-year period — the sharpest acceleration since the index launched in 2023. Capital One Financial and Royal Bank of Canada held second and third place. Commonwealth Bank of Australia placed fourth, the only Asia-Pacific lender in the top 10, while UBS Group was the sole European bank in the top six. Wells Fargo rose one spot to fifth. DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank, ranked 25th. Evident evaluates AI talent depth, research and patents, executive communication, and disclosure practices. Co-founder Alexandra Mousavizadeh said top-ranked banks are growing headcount, calling it potentially "the start of the largest net job creation we have seen in decades." Evident cautioned that banks without measurable AI returns risk stalled programs. JPMorgan, which carries a technology budget near $20 billion annually, plans to roll out AI agents operating autonomously for hours later this year. Chief data and analytics officer Teresa Heitsenrether will retire at year-end after nearly four decades.