Bank-World: A Benchmark for Evaluating Agents on Banking Workflows
Organizations: Arcanum Labs
Abstract
Bank-World is a benchmark of 50 banking tasks across two simulated institutions. Completing banking work requires more than producing the right calculation: agents must reconcile records, obtain permission, execute transactions, and keep instructions and status reports consistent as circumstances change. Bank-World tests these requirements through single-turn assignments and multi-turn interactions with simulated employees who supply information, approve actions, and revise instructions. Grading combines executable checks of recorded actions and state with model judgments of task requirements, including whether valid alternative solutions satisfy them. Across 1,600 attempts by four models, we find that correct decisions often fail to become completed work. Agents charge fees twice, distribute the correct total in incorrect amounts among the recipients, and execute payments while approval is pending. Their strengths also differ: Sol leads single-turn completion, Opus has the highest observed multi-turn completion rate, and Grok succeeds across more multi-turn tasks but less consistently. Bank-World makes these differences inspectable through task-level results and worked examples connecting source evidence, agent decisions, and simulated consequences. We retain the task environments, executable graders, and full trajectories privately to reduce contamination and preserve the benchmark for future evaluations.
Figures & tables
| Workflow | SQ | MQ | Associated skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| C: Credit analysis and funding | 8 | 5 | Eligibility, commitments, covenants, approval scope |
| P: Payments and cash reconciliation | 6 | 4 | Net cash effects, collected funds, reserves, payment status |
| L: Loan payoff and servicing | 0 | 11 | Interest, allocations, changed instructions, handoffs |
| R: Collateral and legal rights | 6 | 2 | Entitlement, consent, documentary proof, release conditions |
| K: Compliance and information controls | 1 | 3 | Source verification, escalation, disclosure, pending reviews |
| T: Trust and asset allocation | 4 | 0 | Economic ownership, principal/income, custody, residuals |
| Setting | Model | Mean reward [95% interval] | Full passes | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | Gemini | 0.513 [0.363, 0.662] | 77/200 | 38.5% |
| SQ | Opus | 0.438 [0.282, 0.596] | 84/200 | 42.0% |
| SQ | Grok | 0.390 [0.284, 0.495] | 68/200 | 34.0% |
| SQ | Sol | 0.638 [0.484, 0.784] | 110/200 | 55.0% |
| MQ | Gemini | 0.510 [0.387, 0.631] | 73/200 | 36.5% |
| MQ | Opus | 0.538 [0.391, 0.682] | 88/200 | 44.0% |
| Setting | Model | No full pass | 1–7 full passes | All 8 pass | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | Gemini | 6 | 19 | 0 | 24.43 | 12.91 | 0.00 |
| SQ | Opus | 8 | 11 | 6 | 32.71 | 27.20 | 24.00 |
| SQ | Grok | 5 | 19 | 1 | 16.43 | 6.00 | 4.00 |
| SQ | Sol | 5 | 12 | 8 | 44.14 | 35.83 | 32.00 |
| MQ | Gemini | 6 | 18 | 1 | 20.29 | 10.17 | 4.00 |
| MQ | Opus | 7 | 16 | 2 | 29.57 | 15.54 | 8.00 |
| Model | Single-turn | Multi-turn |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 95 / 28 / 77 | 96 / 31 / 73 |
| Opus | 112 / 4 / 84 | 91 / 21 / 88 |
| Grok | 121 / 11 / 68 | 114 / 13 / 73 |
| Sol | 71 / 19 / 110 | 112 / 3 / 85 |
| Accepted main decision | Main decision not accepted | |||
| Model | Complete | Incomplete | Complete | Incomplete |
| Gemini | 105 | 40 | 1 | 54 |
| Opus | 88 | 39 | 2 | 71 |
| Grok | 79 | 48 | 7 | 66 |
| Sol | 129 | 46 | 4 | 21 |
| Total | 401 | 173 | 14 | 212 |
| Question | Governing evidence | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| How much money arrived? | Actual wire and signed bill of sale | Use 46,550, including the 1,450 tire credit. |
| What pays off the truck today? | Loan balance and interest through the posting date | Apply 33,953.34, leaving 12,596.66. |
| What brings the credit line current? | Interest records and approved fee waiver | Pay 2,490.75 in interest; waive the 100 fee. |
| How much should remain for payroll? | Customer instruction obtained through Marcus | The amount is initially unspecified. |
| Has the title been released? | Collateral workflow and confirmation of execution | A pending release request does not establish completion. |
| Trajectory A | Trajectory B | |
|---|---|---|
| Statement wording | “The bank’s lien on the title is being released.” | “Our lien on Pennsylvania title 71829304412 has been released.” |
| Recorded workflow | Release requested; shipment unconfirmed | Request instructs Collateral to sign and send; completion unconfirmed |
| What the wording communicates | Work in progress | Completed release |
| Grading distinction | Permissible description of pending work | Completion claim unsupported by recorded execution |
| Model | Correct financial allocation | Title-status criterion passed | Full task passed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 7/8 | 5/8 | 2/8 |
| Grok | 6/8 | 5/8 | 4/8 |
| Opus | 8/8 | 4/8 | 2/8 |
| Sol | 2/8 | 8/8 | 0/8 |
| Partner | Share | Delivered lot | Assigned receivable | Cash entitlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | 40% | 7,000.00 | 275.00 | Share of total value less lot and receivable |
| Ben | 35% | 7,200.00 | 0.00 | Share of total value less lot |
| Cora | 25% | 4,800.00 | 0.00 | Share of total value less lot |
| Total | 100% | 19,000.00 | 275.00 | 40,000.00 available to post |
| Trajectory A | Trajectory B | B minus A | |
| Ava cash credit | 16,435.00 | 16,600.00 | +165.00 |
| Ben cash credit | 13,546.25 | 13,450.00 | |
| Cora cash credit | 10,018.75 | 9,950.00 | |
| Total bank cash | 40,000.00 | 40,000.00 | 0.00 |
| Saved reward | 1 | 0 |
| Model | Correct valuation basis | Correct economic allocation | Full task passed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 8/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 |
| Opus | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 |
| Grok | 8/8 | 1/8 | 1/8 |
| Sol | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 |
Appendix figures & tables24 assets
Supplementary material from the paper’s appendix.
Appendix
| Task | Gemini | Opus | Grok | Sol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ-1 | 0.125 (1/8) | 0.000 (0/8) | 0.250 (2/8) | 0.000 (0/8) |
| SQ-2 | 0.244 (1/8) | 0.125 (1/8) | 0.221 (1/8) | 0.000 (0/8) |
| SQ-3 | 0.490 (3/8) | 1.000 (8/8) | 0.750 (6/8) | 1.000 (8/8) |
| SQ-4 | 0.994 (7/8) | 0.750 (6/8) | 0.375 (3/8) | 1.000 (8/8) |
| SQ-5 | 0.500 (4/8) | 1.000 (8/8) | 0.625 (5/8) | 1.000 (8/8) |
| SQ-6 | 0.115 (0/8) | 1.000 (8/8) | 0.500 (4/8) | 0.974 (5/8) |
| Task | Gemini | Opus | Grok | Sol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MQ-1 | 0.875 (7/8) | 0.750 (6/8) | 0.500 (4/8) | 0.750 (6/8) |
| MQ-2 | 0.000 (0/8) | 0.000 (0/8) | 0.369 (2/8) | 0.000 (0/8) |
| MQ-3 | 0.988 (6/8) | 0.625 (5/8) | 0.625 (5/8) | 0.000 (0/8) |
| MQ-4 | 0.875 (7/8) | 0.863 (5/8) | 0.125 (1/8) | 0.125 (1/8) |
| MQ-5 | 0.750 (6/8) | 0.872 (6/8) | 0.625 (5/8) | 0.000 (0/8) |
| MQ-6 | 0.625 (5/8) | 0.866 (6/8) | 0.625 (5/8) | 1.000 (8/8) |
| Name used in prose | Task ID | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Halvorsen settlement | MQ-24 | Multi-turn |
| Kauffman borrowing base | MQ-25 | Multi-turn |
| Basalt Ridge partner distribution | SQ-22 | Single-turn |
| Mercer custody recovery | SQ-1 | Single-turn |
| Brenneman beneficiary verification | MQ-22 | Multi-turn |
| Juniata cash deposits | MQ-4 | Multi-turn |
| Task name and ID | Cat. | Required work |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer custody recovery (SQ-1) | T | Allocate recovery between principal and income and reconcile the advance. |
| Walther reconsideration (SQ-2) | C | Correct adverse reasons and identify the amendments needed for review. |
| Maren Vale awards (SQ-3) | T | Fund net awards and tax custody while retaining remittance follow-up. |
| Saucedo service remediation (SQ-4) | P | Resolve check dispositions, post service relief, and retain research work. |
| Houghton subscriptions (SQ-5) | T | Settle pooled subscriptions and return only distributable residual cash. |
| Kwon supplier draws (SQ-6) | C | Reconstruct allowances, book fresh advances, and initiate supplier payments. |
| Task name and ID | Cat. | Required work |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside late charges (MQ-1) | L | Recalculate amended installments and route the approved fee disposition. |
| Dalton check exceptions (MQ-2) | P | Decide check exceptions, obtain instructions, and route required follow-up. |
| Stone Ridge sweep (MQ-3) | P | Reconstruct available cash, honor reserves, and execute the approved sweep. |
| Juniata cash deposits (MQ-4) | K | Aggregate currency receipts, route BSA review, and handle customer requests. |
| Stone Valley truck (MQ-5) | L | Complete the authorized payoff while preserving the unresolved title hold. |
| Dalton payroll (MQ-6) | P | Combine available cash and approved borrowing while preserving reserves. |
| Control suite | Cases | Recorded outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Retained-baseline check replay | 50 | 50 reproduce their recorded check verdicts |
| No-action controls | 50 | Mandatory gates force reward 0 for all 25 SQ tasks and 20 MQ tasks. The other five MQ rewards are bounded below 1; see text |
| MQ action mutations | 141 | 120 introduce a new failed check; eight duplicates are rejected by the simulator, six omit semantically assessed actions without a new check failure, and seven retain alternative evidence. Full rewards were not measured. |
| SQ full-grader controls | 12 | Five positive controls receive reward 1; seven negative controls receive reward 0. |
| SQ criterion-only controls | 9 | All nine match the expected criterion verdict (four passes, five failures); whole-task rewards were not measured. |
| SQ payment-predicate controls | 8 | Two positive and six negative cases match the expected predicate outcome; whole-task rewards were not measured. |
| Constructed case | Observed outcome |
|---|---|
| Reference; approval identifying the loan; approval with no account field; separate customer emails | All deterministic checks pass in each of the four cases |
| Missing, late, unrelated, or wrong-approver grant | Draw-approval check fails in each of the four cases |
| Correct certificate entered only after drawing | Certificate-before-draw check and main-answer judgment fail |
| Wrong calculation, faithfully reported | Ineligibles and certificate-before-draw checks fail; only the main-answer rubric criterion fails |
| Maria omitted from customer email | Required-copy check fails |
| Missing documentation | Deterministic checks pass; documentation judgment fails |
| Evaluated model | Grading (Sol-based) | Opus comparison grading |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 0.513 | 0.518 |
| Grok | 0.390 | 0.388 |
| Opus | 0.438 | 0.439 |
| Sol | 0.638 | 0.645 |
| Evaluated model | Grading (Sol-based) | Opus comparison grading |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 0.510 | 0.571 |
| Grok | 0.426 | 0.422 |
| Opus | 0.538 | 0.566 |
| Sol | 0.439 | 0.465 |
| Setting | Attempts | Criterion agreement | Reward changes | Full-pass changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | 32 | 179/181 (98.9%) | 0/32 | 0/32 |
| MQ | 32 | 167/172 (97.1%) | 2/32 | 2/32 |
| Total | 64 | 346/353 (98.0%) | 2/64 | 2/64 |
| Setting | Model | Recorded steps (SQ) / turns (MQ) | Tool calls | Documents opened (MQ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | Gemini | 32 (12–85) | 146.5 (57–330) | – |
| SQ | Opus | 62 (35–147) | 45 (25–110) | – |
| SQ | Grok | 35 (14–262) | 125.5 (43–874) | – |
| SQ | Sol | 37 (24–69) | 27 (15–58) | – |
| MQ | Gemini | 4 (2–20) | 74 (36–128) | 9 (2–22) |
| MQ | Opus | 4 (2–19) | 51 (24–81) | 6 (0–17) |
| Model | Input tokens (millions) | Of which cache-read (millions) | Output tokens (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 5.304 | 4.043 | 55.43 |
| Opus | 1.337 | 1.257 | 13.19 |
| Grok | 3.931 | 3.714 | 34.23 |
| Sol | 1.143 | 1.069 | 7.88 |
| Model | Input tokens (millions) | Of which cache-read (millions) | Output tokens (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 2.095 | 1.779 | 33.19 |
| Opus | 1.890 | 1.830 | 19.62 |
| Grok | 1.958 | 1.823 | 34.27 |
| Sol | 1.234 | 1.174 | 10.71 |
| Run | Claim | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| A | Requests the missing payroll amount | Message 15, part 57 |
| A | Pays interest, then allocates the confirmed amount | Tool 99: USD 2,490.75 interest; tool 108: USD 6,000 operating credit; tool 111: USD 4,105.91 principal |
| B | Posts the remainder without an amount, then acknowledges the gap | Tool 121: USD 10,105.91 operating credit; message 15, part 93: explanation |
| A | Sends pending-status wording | Tool 132: saved statement; tool 134: customer email |
| B | Claims release while requesting its execution | Tool 145: request to sign and ship; tool 151: saved statement; tool 152: customer email |
| Variation | Saved outcome | Distinction tested |
|---|---|---|
| Pay authorized interest before receiving the payroll amount | Full credit | Valid partial progress while awaiting clarification |
| Route the residual through operating after clarification | Full credit | Equivalent payment route, with the same authorized net allocation |
| Guess the correct USD 6,000 before receiving the instruction | Deterministic checks pass; main-answer criterion fails | Correct balances do not establish authorized execution |
| Add a completed-title claim to the reviewed draft and sent email | Deterministic checks pass; title-status criterion fails | Review and delivery do not establish truth of the claim |
| Remove the delivered F-550 question and corresponding reply | Full credit | An undelivered question creates no response obligation |
| Single-turn task | Main answer passes | Of these, conduct fails |
|---|---|---|
| SQ-21 | 21 | 5 |
| SQ-25 | 32 | 1 |
| SQ-3 | 28 | 2 |
| SQ-4 | 29 | 4 |
| SQ-6 | 25 | 5 |
| SQ-11 | 16 | 1 |
| Multi-turn task | Executing attempts | Prior-approval mismatches |
|---|---|---|
| MQ-10 | 32 | 5 |
| MQ-13 | 3 | 0 |
| MQ-17 | 32 | 3 |
| MQ-3 | 29 | 0 |
| MQ-20 | 31 | 5 |
| MQ-5 | 32 | 8 |
| New posting | Net route | Pre-fee route | Observed F1574 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A deposit | 8,669.18 | 8,806.98 | 8,669.18 |
| A separate fee | 0.00 | ||
| B deposit | 6,272.91 | 6,479.31 | 6,272.91 |
| B separate fee | 0.00 | ||
| Net balance increase | 14,942.09 | 14,942.09 | 14,597.89 |
| Time | Journal event | Recorded action or state |
|---|---|---|
| 09:25:15 | 79 | Manager approves the $43,650 request. |
| 09:35:57 | 89 | Agent submits a new $51,800 request. |
| 09:37:34 | 93 | Agent reads the new request; it remains pending. |
| 09:38:59 | 94 | Agent successfully transfers $51,800. |
| 09:42:10 | 102 | Manager approves the $51,800 request. |
| Task | Auth. | Diag. | Diagnostic check identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQ-1 | 25 | 0 | None |
| SQ-2 | 42 | 0 | None |
| SQ-3 | 44 | 0 | None |
| SQ-4 | 28 | 0 | None |
| SQ-5 | 45 | 3 | capture_owner_a , capture_owner_b , capture_registrar |
| SQ-6 | 39 | 0 | None |
| Task | Criterion (weight) |
|---|---|
| SQ-1 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; required actions (0.17) ∗ ; advance reconciliation (0.2); email package (0.08); conduct (0.07); status (0.08) |
| SQ-2 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; required actions (0.17) ∗ ; calculation (0.23); communication (0.05); conduct (0.07); status (0.08) |
| SQ-3 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; required actions (0.2) ∗ ; pending remittance (0.1); handoff (0.15); conduct (0.07); status (0.08) |
| SQ-4 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; required actions (0.17) ∗ ; instrument authority (0.23); research handoff (0.05); conduct (0.07); status (0.08) |
| SQ-5 | main answer (0.38) ∗ ; required actions (0.16) ∗ ; consistent fractional custody (0.28); delivery (0.08); conduct (0.05); status (0.05) |
| SQ-6 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; required actions (0.17) ∗ ; gross allowance (0.2); handoff (0.08); conduct (0.07); status (0.08) |
| Task | Rubric criterion (weight) | Deterministic checks: count; gates |
|---|---|---|
| MQ-1 | earned schedule (0.4) ∗ † ; current instruction (0.3) ∗ † ; documented (0.2) † ; status (0.1) | 7 checks; march waiver amount † ; no unrequested booking |
| MQ-2 | decision explanation (0.35) ∗ ; customer confidentiality (0.2) ∗ ; documentation (0.2); actionable handoffs (0.15) ∗ ; status precision (0.1) | 8 checks; decision matrix; decision money |
| MQ-3 | figures in outputs (0.4) ∗ ; authority report (0.35) ∗ ; documented (0.15) ∗ ; other status (0.1) | 6 checks; payment state; payment authority; waiver route; fee state; case and delivery |
| MQ-4 | main answer (0.4) ∗ ; confidentiality (0.25) ∗ ; customer service (0.15) ∗ ; documented (0.1); honest status (0.1) | 5 checks; main state gate |
| MQ-5 | cash reconciliation (0.35) ∗ ; shared title decision (0.3) ∗ ; buyer letter (0.2) ∗ ; case documentation (0.1); other status (0.05) | 7 checks; funds and posting; payment authority; vehicle closed; collateral route; credit route; live case; buyer delivery |
| MQ-6 | money in words (0.4) ∗ ; approval scope (0.25) ∗ ; audit and handoff (0.2); truthful notice (0.15) | 5 checks; funding state; execution release; item authority; handoff state; funded in time |
| Task | Model | Zero | Failed requirements (count); partial-credit failures where applicable |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQ-1 | Opus | 8 | required actions (8) |
| SQ-1 | Sol | 8 | required actions (8) |
| SQ-2 | Sol | 8 | required actions (8) |
| SQ-6 | Gemini | 7 | required actions (7); main answer (4). For the single attempt receiving partial credit: status (1). |
| SQ-7 | Opus | 8 | main answer (8); required actions (8) |
| SQ-9 | Grok | 3 | main answer (3); required actions (3). Among 5 attempts receiving partial credit: package (1); conduct (5). |
| Task | Trace | Divergence and interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| MQ-2 | F0217 | Pays check 14227 despite the absent accepted issue row, and pays 14226/14228 before their matching rows arrive. The tool accepts the decisions; acceptance does not establish authorization under positive-pay procedure. Action and timing failure. |
| MQ-3 | F0473 | Reads transactions showing returned payroll, then uses that payroll to size the reserve despite the mandate requiring the most recent completed payroll. Posts 27,503.31 curtailments instead of 26,002.44. State-selection failure. |
| MQ-5 | F0665 | Reads the 2,400 installment. The cure is \2{,}400-$1{,}100+$120=$1{,}420$ . Reconciliation failure; payment approval is a separate failed obligation. |
| MQ-7 | F0729 | Omits the accepted 20,060 instead of 17,500 floor). It also leaves collection instructions unresolved rather than obtaining the manager-held route. Source and instruction-discovery failure. |
| MQ-9 | F0089 | Uses the April 11 screen payoff of 72,656.31. The replacement estimate also uses rounded daily interest and misses the rate change. Calculation and source-reconciliation failure. |
| MQ-14 | F0281 | Sends a planning estimate using the screen’s 7.40% rate instead of the executed 6.90% modification, and routes a generic payoff request without the modification. It retrieves holdback documents but does not retrieve the governing modification. Source selection and servicing-scope failure. |
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