Despite broader industry job cuts, the world’s biggest banks are doubling down on their hiring of artificial intelligence specialists, according to new data from Evident. The benchmarking index’s April 2025 AI Talent Report, which claims to draw from millions of publicly available data points, shows that AI roles in banking have surged 13% over the past six months, marking the most significant jump in two years. The findings reveal that one in every fifty banking employees now works in an AI-specific role—a stark contrast to wider workforce reductions, with industry headcount declining by roughly 3% over the past two years. The numbers paint a clear picture: while many departments have reduced numbers, AI is fast becoming an island of growth and investment. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup are leading the charge, topping Evident’s global AI hiring index. They are joined by Bank of America and Capital One, rounding out the top five AI employers. Together, the top ten banks account for nearly half (48%) of all AI roles in the banking sector.Notably, JPMorgan Chase and Capital One outpaced even this elite group, growing their AI talent pools faster than the overall Index rate. Evident co-founder and CEO Alexandra Mousavizadeh, an economist who also built Tortoise Media’s Global AI Index, said that AI roles in the banking sector “may be the only safe jobs right now.” AI Development, the domain responsible for building models and algorithms, saw a 6% rise. Data Engineering—covering the specialists who prepare and manage the vast datasets that feed AI systems—rose 14%. But the standout growth came from AI Software Implementation, which leapt 42%, albeit from a smaller base. This suggests a maturing phase, as banks shift focus from conceptual frameworks to scaled deployment of AI applications. Evident’s data also reveals that these top-tier banks report twice as many AI use cases as their peers and are 1.5 times more likely to measure and disclose return on investment from their AI initiatives. Evident commented that this correlation between talent and tangible results “signals a widening strategic gap between industry leaders and laggards”. BBVA stands out among the top ten for its comprehensive AI hiring. It surpassed growth benchmarks across all capability areas, expanding its AI workforce by 18%. The bank is aggressively scaling its “AI Factories” model, opening new centres of excellence in Mexico and Turkey as part of a broader push to embed AI across global operations. Behind the frontrunners, a new cohort of fast movers is emerging. CommBank, BNY, TD Bank, and Lloyds Banking Group all increased their AI headcount by more than 21%, suggesting a concerted effort to close the distance with the leaders. Capital One, in particular, is making targeted investments in Data Engineering to maintain its identity as a tech-first institution. JPMorgan Chase continues to scale advanced tools like its Quest IndexGPT, a system for generating personalised equity baskets. Meanwhile, Citigroup is focusing on infrastructure, leveraging partnerships such as its collaboration with Numerated to streamline borrower data collection. Wells Fargo and Bank of America are bolstering their AI Development teams, pointing to a strategy centred on retooling retail operations and strengthening mobile service offerings.
JPMorgan names new leadership for key commercial banking units- Innovation Economy (IE) sector and Specialized Industries (SI) sector
JPMorgan Chase has appointed Andrew Kresse and Brian Lamb to lead two key sectors in its commercial banking business, the largest U.S. lender said, as it continues to reorganize the unit. The move follows a greater leadership reshuffle in February in which Melissa Smith and Matt Sable were appointed co-heads of commercial banking, a unit that serves over 70,000 clients across 154 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Kresse, a two-decade company veteran, will co-lead the Innovation Economy (IE) sector, along with John China.
The IE sector employs 500 bankers serving nearly 10,000 venture capital firms, founders, and high-growth venture-backed companies across U.S. and Canada. Kresse has previously led the international expansion of the bank’s heritage Corporate Client Banking (hCCB) International business and established IE teams in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. He takes over the role from Smith. Lamb will head the Specialized Industries (SI) sector, which provides industry expertise and tailored solutions to businesses and organizations across a wide range of sectors.
Kresse and Lamb will both report to Smith and Sable.
Fiserv has become the nation’s first chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose bank (MALPB) to process card-based payment transactions with direct access to the payment card networks
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance said that Fiserv merchant acquirer limited purpose bank (MALPB) has become the nation’s first chartered MALPB to process card-based payment transactions. The wholly owned subsidiary of Fiserv had its charter application approved by the Department on Sept. 27, received its permit to begin business from the Department on April 11 and processed the first payment transactions under its MALPB charter. The Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act, created an optional bank charter for merchant acquirers that provides direct access to the payment card networks without having to contract with a third-party bank sponsor. Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp said that the step taken by Fiserv MALPB enables it and other companies to expand and keeps Georgia “the No. 1 state for processing payments.” “As the first-of-its-kind bank charter in the nation, this milestone also reinforces Georgia’s position as the leader in innovation when it comes to financial transactions,” Kemp said. Kevin Hagler, commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Banking and Finance, said: “The issuance of MALPB charters along with the Department’s robust regulatory oversight will help strengthen the vibrant and diverse economy of this state by permitting the safe and sound growth of this critical industry to Georgia.”
Robinhood’s cryptocurrency transaction-based revenues reached $252 million in Q1 2025, doubling year over year
Robinhood is aggressively expanding into cryptocurrency, with cryptocurrency transaction-based revenues reaching $252 million in Q1 2025, doubling year over year and accounting for more than 43% of Robinhood’s total transaction revenue. The company also has plans to acquire Bitstamp to broaden its global and institutional reach. Robinhood’s cryptocurrency transaction-based revenues reached $252 million in Q1 2025, doubling year over year and accounting for more than 43% of Robinhood’s total transaction revenue. “Bitstamp positions us to serve a much broader customer base with institutional-grade infrastructure and licensing across key international markets,” CEO Vlad Tenev said. The deal is expected to close midyear, pending regulatory approval, and would expand Robinhood’s international crypto footprint by adding nearly 50 licenses and registrations globally. The acquisition also marks a pivot from Robinhood’s original retail-only crypto focus to a more diversified, vertically integrated crypto platform. Robinhood is diversifying its offerings beyond trading, launching products like an AI-powered assistant (Cortex), a managed investment service (Strategies), and expanding its premium Gold membership, as it aims to be a comprehensive financial platform amid regulatory and market risks. For the quarter, revenue was up 50% year over year to $927 million and net income more than doubled; funded customer accounts grew to 25.8 million, and total platform assets rose to $221 billion, including $25 billion in crypto holdings.
Trump tariffs ignite digital procurement revolution across B2B with financial services are integrated into business workflows
With tariffs increasing the costs for imported components and more, companies are turning to digital procurement and payment platforms, many of which are capable of streamlining vendor onboarding, automating payments in multiple currencies, and allowing finance teams to negotiate early payment discounts. Amazon, for example, is surveying its third-party sellers to determine the effect of tariffs on their businesses. CEO Andy Jassy has acknowledged that shoppers could bear the brunt of these costs, as merchants recalibrate to safeguard their margins. Digital procurement isn’t just about buying things cheaper but is increasingly about creating a data-rich environment where finance and operations can collaborate in real time, making the business more agile in the face of geopolitical and economic shocks. Embedded financial services — offering banking, lending and insurance within non-financial platforms — are another piece of the puzzle. By integrating financing options directly into procurement workflows, companies can smooth out cash flow gaps caused by fluctuating tariffs and shifting supplier terms. Platforms like Flex and Lenkie, which raised $62 million also last month, illustrate a trend where financial services are integrated into business workflows. While some companies are struggling under the weight of rising costs and disrupted supply chains, others are seizing the opportunity to innovate their payment processes, with virtual cards emerging as a solution for B2B payments across digital platforms. Separately, firms are realizing that future-proofing their procurement operations when times are tough could pay off down the line as the macro environment finds its footing, and as the ongoing generational shift among procurement and executive leadership continues unabated with its preference for seamless, digital-first procure-to-pay experiences.
Anthropic just analyzed 700,000 Claude conversations — and found its AI has a moral code of its own- largely upholding the company’s “helpful, honest, harmless” framework while adapting its values to different contexts
Anthropic research reveals both reassuring alignment with the company’s goals and concerning edge cases that could help identify vulnerabilities in AI safety measures. The study found that Claude largely upholds the company’s “helpful, honest, harmless” framework while adapting its values to different contexts — from relationship advice to historical analysis. This represents one of the most ambitious attempts to empirically evaluate whether an AI system’s behavior in the wild matches its intended design. “Our hope is that this research encourages other AI labs to conduct similar research into their models’ values,” said Saffron Huang, a member of Anthropic’s Societal Impacts team who worked on the study. The research team developed a novel evaluation method to systematically categorize values expressed in actual Claude conversations. After filtering for subjective content, they analyzed over 308,000 interactions, creating what they describe as “the first large-scale empirical taxonomy of AI values.” The taxonomy organized values into five major categories: Practical, Epistemic, Social, Protective, and Personal. At the most granular level, the system identified 3,307 unique values — from everyday virtues like professionalism to complex ethical concepts like moral pluralism. “I was surprised at just what a huge and diverse range of values we ended up with, more than 3,000, from ‘self-reliance’ to ‘strategic thinking’ to ‘filial piety,’” Huang told. The study found that Claude generally adheres to Anthropic’s prosocial aspirations, emphasizing values like “user enablement,” “epistemic humility,” and “patient wellbeing” across diverse interactions.
Morgan Stanley targets active traders with Power ETrade Pro, directly competing with Charles Schwab’s Thinkorswim and Robinhood Markets’ Legend; can customize as many as 120 tools across six screens
ETrade, the brokerage firm owned by Morgan Stanley, is launching a new platform aimed at the most active traders. Dubbed “Power ETrade Pro”, the platform is currently in its pilot phase and is set for a full launch in June. With this new platform, the brokerage will directly compete with Charles Schwab’s Thinkorswim and Robinhood Markets’ Legend. The new E*Trade platform will allow traders to customise as many as 120 tools across six screens. It will also include a separate desktop client, in addition to the existing web and mobile products. “Our sophisticated trader population is a hugely important group of folks for us,” said Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s Head of Wealth Management. The launch of “Power E*Trade Pro” also coincided with US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs globally, which made financial markets highly volatile and boosted trading volumes on brokerage platforms. Polish brokerage platform XTB recently revealed that trading volumes surged to three times the levels seen during the pandemic.
Charles Schwab said assets in its ETFs rose 16% since 1Q; net purchases of ETFs at Schwab dropped 17% from the fourth quarter
Charles Schwab said assets in its exchange-traded funds rose 16% since last year’s first quarter as flows into its biggest funds jumped. Schwab, which manages 33 ETFs, said in an April 17 statement that assets in its proprietary ETFs jumped to $398.2 billion from $342.9 billion at the end of last year’s first quarter. Since the previous quarter ended, assets inched up 1% from $395 billion, the company said. Assets gained year over year as broad equity indexes jumped, with the S&P 500 notching a 25% total return last year. Inflows slowed as markets dropped this year, however, as fears of recession and inflation sparked by President Donald Trump’s trade war have pushed the S&P 500 10% lower so far in 2025. Investors were met with “an increasingly uncertain environment” in the first quarter, Schwab Chief Executive Officer Rick Wurster said. As markets tumbled in the first quarter and investors moved money into safer investments, Schwab’s largest ETF, the $64.9 billion Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), pulled in $3.8 billion. That fund pulled in $12.1 billion since last year’s first quarter. It includes companies with 10-year histories of paying dividends, which are widely considered safer investments.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s new MD for Multi-Asset Solutions had served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced that Geng Ngarmboonanant will join the firm’s Multi-Asset Solutions business as a managing director specializing in global business and investment strategy. Based in New York, Geng reports to Zachary Page, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions for the Americas. In this new role, Geng helps shape investment strategy through macroeconomic and policy research, and partners with clients to design tailored investment solutions. He will also drive business strategy and product innovation as part of the business leadership team. Geng joins J.P. Morgan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Janet L. Yellen. In this capacity, Geng served as a key advisor to Secretary Yellen on domestic and international economic policy issues, and played an important role in many of the Treasury Department’s top economic initiatives from 2021 to 2025. This includes the response to the pandemic and market events, U.S.-China economic relations, housing and insurance markets, and artificial intelligence. Multi-Asset Solutions is a $440 billion business, integrating a team of asset allocation specialists with the breadth and depth of J.P. Morgan’s global investment platform, with over 500 investment strategies across asset classes, geographies and investment styles. The group seeks to create portfolios that access opportunities and solve challenges across the ever-changing investing landscape – including customized solutions and well-known strategies such as J.P. Morgan Income Builder, J.P. Morgan Global Allocation and the J.P. Morgan SmartRetirement series of target date funds.
U.S. Bank has united its Global Fund Services and Global Corporate Trust teams into a single Investment Services division, to build on leading market share in the Corporate Trust markets
U.S. Bank announced that it has united its Global Fund Services and Global Corporate Trust teams into a single Investment Services division led by Jay Martin. As president of Investment Services, Martin leads a global team that offers customized services to middle market, large corporate, government and institutional clients, including fund administration, custody, investor servicing, trustee services and corporate escrow. Martin has led Global Fund Services since joining the bank in 2023. Stephen Philipson, vice chair of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking, said, “We have the No. 1 market share in the Corporate Trust markets we serve, and our Fund Services business is thriving, with a steady drumbeat of new and enhanced capabilities to meet the evolving needs of clients. Bringing these two businesses together under a single leader will allow our clients to benefit from our combined scale, investments and more interconnected approach to serving them.”