Swiss bank to demand AI proficiency from junior hires

UBS is requiring prospective graduates and interns joining its global banking and markets divisions in 2027 to demonstrate AI proficiency, making it one of the first major financial institutions to explicitly demand AI literacy from junior banking candidates.

The Swiss bank will ask candidates to show how they have used AI to “improve outcomes and efficiency”, according to people familiar with the matter. The requirement will sit alongside traditional criteria, including being on track to achieve at least a 2.1 undergraduate degree.

One person familiar with the recruitment process told the Financial Times that questions testing candidates’ AI “fluency” would be added to interviews for graduate trainees and interns. The questions will assess how applicants have used the technology rather than simply whether they have experience with AI tools.

The change reflects the growing use of AI for work traditionally performed by junior banking staff, including financial analysis, research and preparing presentations for clients. UBS has been experimenting with AI-generated avatars of analysts that can deliver video presentations to clients, which it has said will allow employees to concentrate on other work.

UBS said it was continually reviewing its recruitment criteria to reflect the skills required by the business. The bank said, “AI capabilities and experiences have become an important aspect of future professional success” as AI reshapes financial services, while stressing that AI literacy “complements, rather than replaces” academic, analytical and interpersonal skills.

Santander has taken a similar approach in some areas, with company filings showing that the Spanish bank has sought “advanced AI users” for certain graduate programmes within its corporate and investment bank. The development points to AI skills becoming relevant to conventional banking roles as well as technology-focused positions.

The Financial Times reported that the hiring changes come as banks face expectations that AI could reduce demand for some roles. Morgan Stanley analysts have forecast that more than 200,000 European banking jobs could be affected over the next five years as lenders expand AI use and close branches.

JPMorgan Chase’s co-head for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Conor Hillery, told the Financial Times’ Global Banking Summit in December that banks needed to be “very careful” that employees did not lose their grasp of basic and fundamental skills. He said JPMorgan was balancing AI deployment for routine tasks with training junior employees in traditional banking capabilities.

One person familiar with UBS’s plans said the AI proficiency requirement would extend to other newly advertised positions across the firm, broadening the recruitment impact beyond its global banking and markets divisions.