Would you trust an AI agent with your bank account information to move your money without asking you first? Gerald Cassidy, a top banking analyst who has been in banking for nearly 40 years, frequently poses that question to his customers, investors, and consumers. He told CNBC that almost everyone would give the same answer. No, “that’s too risky,” said RBC Capital Markets’ Cassidy. Still, the potential for artificial intelligence to transform the banking industry is at the center of growing concerns on Wall Street. Financial stocks have been hurt by the recent proliferation of agents and their ability to weigh up high-yield investment products (like buying a sweater). Agent automation threatens one of the industry’s biggest benefits: customers who keep their money where it is because it takes too much time and effort to find a better alternative. This debate has taken center stage during the recent banking season, with executives pushing back against the idea that AI agents could fundamentally change how consumers manage their money. AI agents are not yet able to independently move deposits between banks. This is very different from AI-assisted shopping, where purchases can be completed by agents with pre-approval. There have been several reports of agents accessing bank accounts, according to Axios and other media publications, but the agents’ ability to research financial products, perform comparisons, and report recommendations to users has caused chills in the financial industry. The prospect of AI-driven banking disruption took off in earnest after Meta Platforms launched its wildly popular Muse Personal Agent on September 8th. Since then, stocks of companies deemed vulnerable have fallen significantly through Wednesday’s close, including Bank of America (down 18%), Wells Fargo (down 6%), JPMorgan Chase (down 5%) and Charles Schwab (down 14%). There are other reasons for the decline in financial stocks, including the Federal Reserve’s September interest rate hike and questions about whether the rate hike cycle will be extended. But the threat of chaos in the air never helps. ‘Trust, trust and trust’ Mike Mayo, a veteran banking analyst, echoed Cassidy’s sentiment, telling CNBC that most consumers value the convenience and security of their existing banking relationship over slightly higher returns. “The camp is making a strong case that we should take the risks seriously, but that’s an exaggeration,” said Wells Fargo’s Mayo. “The three most important words in banking are trust, trust, trust.” Deloitte’s research highlights this reluctance. They found that 72% of bank customers are hesitant to share financial information with AI-generated tools, and while 79% trust information from bank websites, only 49% trust the accuracy of AI-generated banking information. Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said relatively few customers try to access their accounts through unauthorized AI agents. “People love AI and use it a lot, but they’re not ready to entrust their financial lives to AI,” Wurster told CNBC in a post-earnings interview. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said customers have long been able to move money into high-yield accounts with just a few clicks, but many are choosing to stay put. “The idea that that’s going to help move the public toward higher-rate options, I think it’s completely overreaching, especially in the period that we’re seeing,” Schaaf said on the bank’s third-quarter earnings call. But the potential threat to banks’ profits is real. Banks make money by collecting deposits and lending or investing the funds at higher interest rates. If AI agents move customers’ savings more aggressively, banks could be forced to pay more interest to maintain their funds, squeezing profits. Not all accounts are equally vulnerable. Analysts said checking accounts are more insulated because they are tied to daily payments, while savings accounts, which focus on helping customers earn higher yields, could face more competition. For investors, rising deposit costs and slowing deposit growth will be a warning that AI agents are beginning to disrupt the industry. However, third-quarter earnings showed no clear evidence of such a change. Mayo, who has covered banks for 30 years, said: “I have no intention of changing my earnings forecast any time soon due to the threat of AI agents to bank deposits.” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank is blocking external agents that rely on sharing customers’ login credentials. “We’re not going to allow just outside agents into the company because it’s too risky for our clients and for JPMorgan,” Dimon said during the bank’s earnings call. Mr. Cassidy raised another open question. The question is, who is responsible if a certified AI agent mistakenly sends money to the wrong account and the funds cannot be recovered? Unlike credit card fraud, where established consumer protections exist, liability for mistakes made by autonomous agents remains unclear. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan similarly emphasized the need for customer approval. “We strongly believe that there should be a human being involved who approves the movement of money from your account,” he told CNBC. Banks are not sitting idle Banks are certainly not sitting idle when it comes to technology development. Schwab recently launched its own AI assistant called “Charlie,” while JPMorgan has begun a targeted pilot of its own AI tool called “Smart Cash,” which aims to predict users’ cash flows and move funds to maximize returns. Analysts say AI has the potential to improve employee productivity, improve fraud protection, personalize financial products, and reduce costs. These benefits could help offset long-term profit pressures from increased competition for deposits. “Banks are the beneficiaries of AI, not its roadkill,” Mayo said. He also sees parallels with previous technology advances, such as online banking and fintech, that have made it easier to move money without causing the widespread disruption that some investors feared. “I’ve been watching this movie for the past 30 years and never have the dire concerns played out the way I predicted,” he said. “I don’t think this time will be any different.” (Jim Cramer’s charitable trust is Long GS, WFC. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you’ll receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. 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