Morgan Stanley blocks external AI agents as Dimon warns of risks

Key Facts

Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party AI agents from its platforms, Axios reported, citing sources, in a report published on 22 October 2026. A bank spokesperson said it had seen no instances of "rogue AI agents accessing our platforms." At JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon warned during the bank's earnings call of the risks of allowing access to any external agent. He described this as posing "significant risks to customers and JPMorgan," linking the caution to the safety of both customers and the financial institution. Dimon confirmed on the same call that the bank uses the technology internally, saying: "We use agents internally."

Dimon's warnings included legal liability when customers use AI agents, as he said during the earnings call: "There is a transfer of liability." He called for an understanding of the risks associated with data use when dealing with these agents. On competition, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum framed competition from agents in the context of money seeking returns. Barnum used the phrase "yield-seeking money flows" when discussing this aspect of competition on the call. He also discussed the "Smart Cash" product, describing it as "a guided experimentation-type project" targeting a specific segment.

At Bank of America, more than 18,000 employees use "Erica Assist" for customer service, according to the bank's announcement about the system. The bank describes the tool as a human-assisted AI agent that employees use to provide service. The operating model outlined by the bank keeps employees responsible for ensuring customers receive the guidance they need. In its announcement, the bank said "employees ensure customers receive thoughtful guidance," defining their role in dealing with customers. It added that AI operates within the bank's established governance and oversight rules, as part of its announced use to help employees serve customers.

Concerns about competition from AI had previously weighed on financial stocks during the 22 September 2026 session, when Reuters linked pressure on the sector to those concerns and bond market moves. Charles Schwab shares fell 6.1% during that session, among the declines Reuters reported in its financial sector coverage. Ameriprise Financial shares lost 4.4% in the same session. Raymond James shares also fell more than 3%, according to the trading figures reported by Reuters at the time. Those losses came amid concerns about technological competition and bond market movements during September, before the publication of Axios's report on agent blocking in October.

Citi, meanwhile, made monitoring, auditing and governance conditions for using "Arc," the platform it announced for building AI agents within the bank. It said in its announcement: "Every agent will be monitored, auditable and governed." It said access to the platform would expand gradually, according to business needs within the institution. On the European regulatory front, an end-of-October deadline is approaching for banks to submit plans to address AI-powered cyber threats, according to a Reuters report. The European Central Bank set the deadline for lenders in July, asking them to prepare plans to counter those threats. The required plans include improving backups and recovery capabilities as part of the preparations the ECB requested from banks.