By December 2025, AI adoption on Wall Street had moved past experiments inside large US banks and into everyday operations, with bank executives at a Goldman Sachs financial-services conference in New York describing AI as an operational upgrade already lifting productivity across engineering, operations, and customer service Cryptopolitan. Global banks will cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years as artificial intelligence encroaches on tasks currently carried out by human workers, according to Bloomberg Intelligence CNBC.

Marianne Lake, chief executive of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan, said productivity in areas using AI has risen to around 6%, up from roughly 3% before deployment, adding that operations roles could eventually see productivity gains of 40% to 50% as AI becomes part of routine work Cryptopolitan. In comments reported the same day, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said the bank's internal budgets already point to a smaller workforce by 2026, even before factoring in AI's full impact, also flagging higher severance costs suggesting preparations for future adjustments are under way Cryptopolitan.

Citi's incoming CFO Gonzalo Luchetti said the bank has recorded a 9% productivity improvement in software development Cryptopolitan, while chief information and technology officers surveyed for Bloomberg Intelligence indicated that on average they expect a net 3% of their workforce to be cut CNBC.

It's estimated that 73% of working time spent by U.S. banking employees has high potential to be impacted by generative AI, according to a 2024 Accenture report, improving the productivity of early AI-adopters by 22% to 30% over the next three years OpenAI. Citi said in a report in June that AI is likely to displace more jobs across the banking industry than in any other sector, with about 54% of jobs across banking having a high potential to be automated Tekedia.

The same discussion also surfaced a harder reality: if banks can produce more with the same teams, some roles may no longer be required at current levels once demand stabilises Cryptopolitan. Banks that gain the most from AI are likely to focus on three areas at once: redesigning workflows rather than layering on chat tools, building strong data foundations, and putting governance in place that supports speed without eroding trust Cryptopolitan.

PNC CEO Bill Demchak positioned AI as an accelerator rather than a new direction, saying the bank's headcount has stayed largely flat for about a decade, even as the business expanded, with that stability coming from automation and branch optimisation, and AI likely to push the trend further Cryptopolitan.

Surprisingly, entry-level financial workers paying their dues tediously crafting bespoke PowerPoint presentations won't be the first ones out the door, with consulting and banking jobs resisting automation quite robustly due to little margin for error, as clients will not tolerate even the smallest mistake OpenAI. Columbia Business School associate professor Daniel Keum sees accounting and marketing roles being hit the hardest, stating "Accountants are not doing well. AI can do that very well They're hiring a lot less. So only the extremely senior people survive" OpenAI.

McKinsey estimates that generative AI could deliver between $200 billion and $340 billion in annual value for the banking sector, largely through productivity improvements Cryptopolitan.

For banks, enthusiasm is not the main constraint control is, with US regulators having long required strong oversight of models, and those expectations extending to AI systems, including guidance such as the Federal Reserve and OCC's SR 11-7 setting standards for model development, validation, and ongoing review Cryptopolitan. In practice, this pushes banks toward designs that can be examined and traced, with AI use often limited in how independently it can act, with prompts and outputs logged, performance monitored for drift, and humans remaining responsible for high-impact decisions such as lending, dispute handling, and official reporting Cryptopolitan.

Banks aren't ready to shed staffers just yet, pulling back on headcount growth for as long as possible, leaning on AI efficiency gains until forced to add more humans to payroll, with this sluggish period of hiring predicted to last for years OpenAI.

The comments from bank leaders point to a phased shift, with the first phase looking like stable headcount paired with higher output as AI tools spread across teams Cryptopolitan. The open question is no longer whether AI can deliver results in banking but how quickly banks can make those gains routine while preserving audit trails, security, and compliance requirements Cryptopolitan. Around 76% of banks expect to increase their tech headcount because of agentic AI, according to Accenture data OpenAI. Decision-makers must recognize that operational efficiency gains translating to workforce reductions represent a fundamental restructuring of financial services employment, with back and middle office roles facing immediate disruption while strategic hiring in AI-related technical positions creates bifurcated labor market dynamics within banking sector.

Source & Date

Source: Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference, Bloomberg Intelligence, Accenture, McKinsey, Citigroup, Federal Reserve, CNBC
Date: December 9, 2025