Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo, warned that AI agents capable of moving funds between accounts could redirect household deposits from checking accounts earning 0.1% into high-yield savings accounts paying up to 5%, potentially destabilizing banks' funding model.
AI agents like Meta's Muse, launched in September, can currently view account balances, transactions, and investments through integration with financial data platforms. While Muse cannot yet move money between accounts, Sløk's analysis explores what could happen if such functionality becomes available at scale.
The Math Behind the Shift
On a $10,000 balance, a 0.1% checking account generates about $10 annually, while a 5% account yields approximately $500. Sløk's analysis identified 11 fintech and online accounts offering yields between 3.3% and 5%, compared to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation national averages of 0.4% for savings and 0.1% for checking.
Banking System Implications
Banks rely on the spread between deposit rates and lending rates as a core profit source. Sløk warned that if households automated deposit optimization through AI agents, banks could lose significant shares of low-cost deposits they depend on for lending, creating potential systemic risks.
"If every household used AI agents to optimize the return on their cash balances, banks could lose a large share of the cheap deposits they rely on to make loans, which would be a problem for the entire financial system," according to Sløk's analysis.
Market Response
Market observers have already noted deposit migration patterns. Chartered financial analyst Mike Zaccardi reported moving personal cash into Treasury-linked exchange-traded funds, while Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, argued that technological change in banking is inevitable and that policymakers should facilitate rather than resist it.
JPMorgan recently raised its price target for Meta, suggesting Muse could become one of the most widely adopted consumer AI applications since ChatGPT's launch.
Sløk's analysis does not estimate potential deposit volumes or migration timelines. The topic has drawn congressional attention as part of broader cryptocurrency regulation discussions.
