Bank Stocks Slide After Meta's Sept. 8 AI Launch, With BofA Down 18%
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 23
Bank Stocks Slide After Meta's Sept. 8 AI Launch, With BofA Down 18%
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 23
Summary
Bank of America fell 18% through Wednesday's close after Meta's Sept. 8 launch of its Muse agent sharpened fears that AI tools could steer deposits toward higher-yielding accounts.
That threat matters because banks profit from low-cost deposits; if AI makes savings easier to comparison-shop, lenders may have to raise rates to keep money, squeezing margins.
Executives and analysts said the risk is real but overstated: third-quarter earnings showed no clear deposit shift, and Deloitte found 72% of customers hesitate to share financial data with generative AI.
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Schwab all stressed human authorization and trust, while also building their own AI tools as they argue banks may benefit from the technology as much as face disruption.