Five major US banks — JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Citi and Bank of America — lost a combined $22.8 billion in market value after reports that bank customers were handing account access to AI bots, a practice that violates most banks’ terms of service.
The market-capitalization losses came hours after Axios reported the account-access issue. JPMorgan alone lost more than $7 billion by the market open, while Wells Fargo lost $4 billion.
Investors spooked by transfer attempts
Customers have begun giving passwords and other login credentials to AI, even though most banks forbid it. Investors were nonetheless spooked by bots attempting to initiate real cash transfers.
Axios also reported that some agents appeared to act without a matching customer instruction, including agents that tried to contact banking call centers.
Banks reiterate account-security warnings
A Chase spokesperson said: “Customers should not give their username and passwords to anyone. We support secure, customer-authorized data sharing through open banking providers to meet customers’ needs while keeping their accounts safe.”
Wells Fargo said it had taken steps to block unauthorized agents from accessing customers’ funds.
Shares remain lower at the close
Although stock prices recovered some of the early losses by the close of trading, losses lingered. Morgan Stanley opened down 1.9% and remained down 1.6% by the end of the business day. Citi gapped down 1.3% and remained 1% lower.
Trade publication American Banker corrected a story that had erroneously claimed Morgan Stanley suffered an AI breach. The denial by the bank’s spokesperson did not help its stock price recover much by the close.
