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Phil Scott and Jim Atwood, formerly of JPMorgan, left the bank in October to start their own wealth management venture. Their stated goal is to preserve clients' concentrated stock portfolios, many of which are heavily weighted toward AI-related companies, rather than pushing diversification as larger firms typically advise.
JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Amazon, Neiman Marcus and Kohl's are blocking AI personal agents from acting on customers' behalf, while Walmart has opened its site to such bots, pricing products the same for agents as for humans. A Billions Network audit of 51 large U.S. retailers found only 11 have deliberately set a policy on AI agents, with most blocking them unintentionally via older anti-scraper rules.
Axios reports that Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are preparing policy and security measures to handle a surge in autonomous AI agents acting on customers' bank accounts, including agents taking actions users never explicitly requested. Apollo's chief economist Torsten Slok warned in a September note that agents instructed to 'optimize returns' could drain banks of the cheap deposits they rely on for lending.
Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo have begun blocking AI agents from accessing customer accounts and are updating terms of service to address the issue, according to a report by Axios. Banks say they are finding it difficult to distinguish human users from automated bots, and have documented cases of AI agents taking unauthorized actions, including initiating fund transfers and even calling banks directly on a customer's behalf.
Major U.S. banks including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are detecting unvetted AI agents operating inside customer accounts and taking actions not directly tied to user instructions, according to sources cited by Axios. In response, banks are blocking these agents, restricting access, and rewriting terms of service because they often cannot tell whether an agent's activity is actually authorized by the account holder.
Axios reports that unauthorized third-party AI agents have been accessing US bank accounts, with some taking actions like contacting call centers without explicit user permission, according to unnamed banking sources. In response, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo have moved to restrict or block such agents, with some banks limiting them to read-only access. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly warned on an earnings call that thousands of rogue agents could be operating across financial platforms.
Axios reports that Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citi have observed third-party AI agents accessing online banking accounts, typically using customers' own login credentials. Some agents have also contacted call centers or taken actions that appeared to operate independently of direct user instructions. No fraud losses, account takeovers, or named AI products have been reported so far.
Financial services executive Ryan Sparks said he created an AI persona modeled on JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to simulate the kind of challenging conversations he once had with Dimon and his operating committee earlier in his career. Sparks described the tool as part of a broader idea of using AI to build a virtual 'board of directors' that executives can consult to pressure-test decisions, rather than just using AI for routine productivity tasks.
Ahead of the NBA season opener on October 20, JPMorgan Chase announced new fan benefits tied to its league sponsorship, including exclusive arena access for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. The rollout expands Chase's existing NBA partnership into tangible perks for its premium credit card customers.
JPMorgan Chase said it has invested $5 billion in its first year of a planned $10 billion, decade-long program targeting defense, manufacturing and supply-chain startups. The bank has disclosed direct stakes in defense startups Hadrian and Castelion, with most investments still unannounced. Co-president Doug Petno said the program, run by former Berkshire Hathaway executive Todd Combs, could expand beyond the original $10 billion target.
A debanking investigation reportedly found that JPMorgan and other major banks terminated accounts belonging to sellers associated with MAGA-aligned products as well as Democratic political organizations. Separately, OpenAI has alleged a former employee took confidential files to Apple, and two cargo ships sank near the Strait of Hormuz.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said investors should resist pulling out of stocks despite a sharp selloff in which the S&P 500 fell about 1%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.9% and the Dow closed slightly lower. He cited a hotter-than-expected inflation report, swinging Treasury yields, rising oil prices tied to the Iran conflict, and mixed earnings from Morgan Stanley and ASML as evidence of the market's unpredictability.