Banks ramp hiring

Banks are adding software and technology staff even as the broader market for junior developers remains weak, according to new American Banker research published April 15. (americanbanker.com) American Banker said its 2026 AI Talent Shift survey was fielded in March among 206 banking professionals, and found more bankers expected headcount increases than reductions. The report said artificial intelligence was “not as big a driver as many believe.” (americanbanker.com) That hiring push lands in a cooler software market outside finance. The St. Louis Fed’s Indeed-based index for U.S. software development job postings stood at 72.44 on March 27, 2026, with February 1, 2020 set to 100. (fred.stlouisfed.org) Banks have been spending more on technology for years, and the dollars are now large enough to shape hiring plans. A Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City paper published March 6 said banks’ share of spending on information technology and marketing more than doubled from 4% in 2004 to 19% in 2025. (kansascityfed.org) The same Kansas City Fed research linked higher technology spending to higher profits, more deposit income and lower loan default rates. In its model, raising a bank’s information-technology spending share from 20% to 40% lifted return on equity from 8.2% to 9.1%. (kansascityfed.org) Regulators have also described why banks are hiring differently from consumer internet companies. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said on April 4, 2025 that banks were moving cautiously on generative artificial intelligence because of the industry’s internal structure and “highly regulated environment.” (federalreserve.gov) That caution tends to favor roles tied to implementation, controls and production systems over splashy experimentation. Evident said in its April 2025 AI Talent Report that the 50 banks it tracks grew their AI and data talent stack 12.6% in six months, and that leaders such as JPMorganChase, Capital One and Goldman Sachs were emphasizing implementation talent. (evidentinsights.com) The banking push is also part of a larger shift in where tech workers sit. CompTIA said in its State of the Tech Workforce 2026 that 60% of technology professionals work outside technology companies, and that finance and insurance is one of the four biggest industry sectors employing tech workers. (comptia.org) CompTIA still expects the overall U.S. tech workforce to expand in 2026, but its report points to strength in data, cybersecurity and software roles rather than a broad return to easy entry-level hiring. The next test for banks is whether that selective demand spreads beyond regulated operations and into a wider recovery for junior engineers. (comptia.org)