Citigroup is prohibiting third-party AI agents from logging into customer accounts or conducting transactions through its digital banking platform. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank has restricted AI agents' access to personal customer deposits, is in talks with agent providers and is developing rules for liability of AI-authorized payments, stressing that outbound transfers must require human authorization.
Moynihan said the bank hired 1,000 contractors in Q2 2026 to work with 3,000 internal staff on fixing software vulnerabilities found by frontier AI models like Anthropic's Mythos. Spending on bug fixes and anti-money-laundering compliance exceeded several hundred million dollars in Q3. The bank now runs about 130 internal AI projects, with expected cost savings rising from $300 million in 2026 to $700 million in 2027.
Six major global banks, including Bank of America and Capital One, jointly released a report warning that AI agent shopping poses risks in transparency, safety, privacy, data, choice, and interoperability, which grow with greater autonomy of AI agents. Consumers worry about AI agents buying wrong items, overspending, or falling victim to scams, and the report notes agents may prioritize certain products or payment methods due to incentives such as commissions.
Hartnett warned in the latest Flow Show report that record diesel prices, surging 30-year Treasury yields and productivity concerns under the AI boom are jointly building autumn stagflation risk. He suggested hedging AI-bubble equity indices, noted diesel as the core stress point of the real economy, said the diversification benefit of bonds is fading, and cited fund flow data reflecting shifting market sentiment.
Bank of America's European equity strategy head Sebastian Raedler warned in an interview that investors should hedge their AI-driven stock exposure, saying every major investment boom over the past 200 years has ended in a crash. He suggested positioning in beaten-down stocks that could benefit if the boom proves unsustainable, and mentioned options strategies on defensive sectors proposed by his derivatives team.