Three US Banks Account for 75% of Global Banking AI Patents

Despite a rise in AI patent filings across banking, activity remains highly concentrated, with only three US banks responsible for 75% of all AI patents filed globally by the sector.

Evident’s Banking AI Patent Tracker revealed that while the number of patents filed by major banks grew at 78% CAGR over the last decade, Capital One, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase accounted for 75% of all patents filed.

The dominance of US banks is further reflected in the wider rankings as the top 10 filers are all based in North America. This includes Capital One, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, US Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and PNC. Overall, US banks are responsible for more than 85% of banking AI patents worldwide.

Evident said this concentration reflects a combination of more permissive US patent rules, a highly litigious intellectual property environment, and a more structured approach to internal innovation at large American banks.

While most filings still focus on traditional AI techniques, the share of patents related to generative AI is increasing sharply. GenAI patents rose from 6% of all banking AI filings to 17% in 2023, with early signs of continued momentum into 2025.

This trend mirrors Evident’s AI Use Case Tracker, which shows that more than half of new AI use cases disclosed by banks since 2024 have leveraged GenAI.

Customer service is the leading focus area for GenAI patents, driven by investment in customer-facing chatbots and personalisation tools.

Cybersecurity and back-office functions are also prominent, while relatively few GenAI patents relate to training or financial risk management.

Agentic AI remains at an early stage, with just eight banks globally filing patents in this area. European banks continue to lag behind overall, although HSBC stands out for pursuing cross-jurisdiction filings to protect key markets.