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Bank Stocks Fell on AI-Agent Deposit Fears. Is It Overdone?
Bank shares have slid since Meta launched its Muse agent on September 8, on fears AI agents will move savings to higher yields. Bankers and analysts say the threat is overdone for now.
Bank shares have had a rough six weeks, and part of the reason is a piece of software. Since Meta Platforms launched its Muse personal agent on September 8, Bank of America has fallen 18%, Charles Schwab 14%, Wells Fargo 6% and JPMorgan Chase 5% through the close on October 21, CNBC reported on October 23. Analysts worry that agents able to compare yields will wear away one of banking's quiet advantages: customers who leave money in low-interest accounts and never move it.
The economics explain the nerves. Banks make money by lending or investing deposits at higher rates than they pay on them. If an agent sweeps a customer's savings to whichever account pays the most, banks would have to pay more to keep that money, squeezing their margins. Savings balances are seen as more exposed than checking accounts, which people use to pay bills. The slide also coincided with other pressures, including the Federal Reserve's September rate increase and fears of a longer hiking cycle, so not all of it can be put down to agents.
Executives and several analysts think the market has run ahead of the evidence. Third-quarter results showed no clear sign of deposits shifting. Wells Fargo chief executive Charlie Scharf called the idea of mass movement to higher-rate alternatives "completely overdone, especially for the time period we can see." Schwab's Rick Wurster said few clients try to reach their accounts through unauthorized agents: "They're not ready to turn their financial life over to AI." RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy said most people would not let an agent move their money without asking: "It's just too risky."
Survey data point the same way. In a Deloitte survey cited by CNBC, 72% of bank customers said they hesitate to share financial information with generative AI tools, and 49% trusted the accuracy of AI-generated banking information, against 79% for information from bank websites. Banks are also shaping the outcome themselves: JPMorgan blocks outside agents that rely on customers handing over their login, Bank of America's Brian Moynihan says a human should authorize any money leaving an account, and JPMorgan is piloting its own tool that predicts cash flow and moves funds to maximize yield.
The question nobody has answered is liability. Cassidy pointed out that if an authorized agent sends money to the wrong account, it is unclear what protection the customer has, unlike with card fraud. Until regulators or courts settle that, agent-driven deposit flight looks less like a sudden run than a slow repricing risk, and it will show up first in banks' quarterly deposit costs rather than in a single day's share moves.
Sources: CNBC — AI agents could disrupt bank deposits. Why Wall Street may be overreacting (Oct 23, 2026)