AI & Finance News — 2026-09-16 (Wed)

Overview

The actual implementation of AI agents by banks and asset management companies is accelerating, and major companies such as Charles Schwab and Ritholtz Wealth Management have announced the introduction of Claude one after another (Pulse 2.0, PR Newswire). Meanwhile, Fink warns that slow adoption of AI will leave the technology exclusive to large companies (Bloomberg, marketscreener.com), and in the payments space, governance issues for agent-to-agent transfers are emerging (Payments Industry Intelligence).

Bank trends

Goldman Sachs opens a new location in Bellevue for more than 125 AI and cloud engineers (GeekWire). SMBC ramps up adoption of AI strategy at Charlotte, bringing in executives from Ally (bizjournals.com). Banks are reportedly entrusting tasks to AI agents while carefully monitoring their scope of authority (Tearsheet). BOND.AI and WebMobileFusion announce partnership in banking intelligence (Business Wire).

Insurance trends

A former Anthropic employee and former METR COO have reportedly developed a method to control runaway AI agents (techcrunch.com). Sapiens launches AI-native platform for insurance, Duck Creek sets new record orders for fiscal year 2026 on the back of accelerating adoption of agent-based AI (Captive Insurance Times, PR Newswire). Canopius has created a new head of analytics position (Insurance Business) to respond to AI competition in the specialty insurance underwriting space.

Trends in asset management and market transactions

BlackRock's Fink has warned that the backlash against AI will slow the adoption of the technology and make it centric to large companies (Bloomberg, marketscreener.com). While some market commentary has said that "Wall Street misjudged the role that AI will play" (Semafor), others have pointed out that investors need to scrutinize AI-related exposures beyond traditional diversified investments (Institutional Investor).

Fintech/payment trends

It has been reported that x402 payments are increasing, but the majority of them are not said to originate from AI agents (PYMNTS.com). Stripe reportedly acquired the AI prompt routing company for an estimated $7.5 billion (Forbes). New governance issues have been pointed out for banks when AI transfers funds (Payments Industry Intelligence). Fintech executives also voiced that scaling barriers remain to the practical application of AI finance (Castanet).

Remarks from key figures and authorities in the financial world

- Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, warned that backlash against the widespread use of AI will slow its adoption and make it a technology only large companies have access to (Bloomberg.com, marketscreener.com). - Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America: Moynihan's warning comes amid a series of reports in which President Trump has referred to concerns about AI as a "hoax" (CNBC). - Paul Atkins (SEC Chairman): No direct statements or mentions in the headings of this list. - Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, David Solomon, Ted Pick, Ken Griffin: Today's headlines do not contain any specific comments or developments.

Trends in AI-related stocks and funding

Manufacturing AI startup CADDi has reportedly reached a valuation of $1.2 billion after raising $114 million in Series D funding (Fortune). While multiple media outlets are reporting that AI-related stocks are "slightly stable" ahead of the Fed meeting (Morning Journal, KTVN), there are also reports of a rebound from the recent sharp decline (MarketWatch/UA.NEWS). Some point out that rising bond yields have replaced concerns about an "AI bubble" as a new cause for concern on Wall Street (thewealthadvisor.com).

Trends in financial regulation and supervision

A coalition of groups called on the Senate to block financial regulatory exemptions for AI companies (Center for Democracy and Technology). There are reports that FINRA is conducting an internal review of the use of AI by Associated Persons (The National Law Review). President Trump was reported to have said "hoax" regarding concerns about ontological threats surrounding AI (ABC News). Direct announcements from financial regulators in Japan are not included in today's headlines.

Japanese finance and AI

Resona Bank and Saitama Resona Bank have launched a new TV counter service that utilizes AI (TV Tokyo BIZ). It was reported that Monex Securities is moving forward with efforts to connect securities accounts to AI, but has a policy of not entrusting buying and selling decisions to AI (docomo topics). Keiyo Bank has introduced ``LiNKX AXcelerator,'' which uses AI to automatically generate design documents for core systems (EnterpriseZine). Pageant has started offering an AI fraud detection service (Infoseek).

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

In the field of banking and asset management, the introduction of AI is moving from the "experimental" stage to the "actual operation" stage. Examples from Charles Schwab and Ritholtz Wealth Management show that major securities and asset management firms are partnering with specific AI vendors, such as Anthropic, to expand into the customer-facing realm (Pulse 2.0, PR Newswire). At the same time, banks such as Goldman Sachs and SMBC are moving to hire AI talent and expand their bases, and the structure in which large companies are taking the lead in introducing AI is in line with Fink's warning (Bloomberg). Meanwhile, in the payments field, AI agents are entering the stage of actually moving funds, and as a result, concerns about gaps in bank governance (Payments Industry Intelligence) and regulatory exemptions (CDT) are emerging. On the market side, the price movements of AI-related stocks are unstable, and bond yields are starting to be talked about as a new cause for concern, replacing concerns about an AI bubble (thewealthadvisor.com). In Japan, the implementation of AI in counter operations, fraud detection, and system design is progressing at the regional bank and securities company level, but some companies, such as Monex Securities, are taking a cautious stance of leaving buying and selling decisions to humans, and the distinction between practical implementation and delegation of authority has become a common point of discussion both domestically and internationally.

Future points of interest

- Will the transfer of funds by AI agents actually increase in the payment field, and how will banks and regulators develop governance in response to this (Payments Industry Intelligence, CDT related)? - Post-Fed meeting AI stock price movements and the impact of rising bond yields on AI investment sentiment (related to thewealthadvisor.com). - Will exclusive, large-scale alliances with AI vendors by major asset management companies and securities companies lead to industry standardization, or will the "overemphasis on large companies" pointed out by Fink actually progress?

Overview

In the asset management field, Anthropic's Claude was introduced by Schwab and BlackRock, and the AI agent competition has spread to the asset management industry in earnest (Yahoo Finance). While it was reported that OpenAI had raised funding at a valuation of $1.2T, distrust in general-purpose AI was highlighted in the insurance industry (stocktitan.net, Intelligent Insurer). In Japan, the Financial Services Agency is proceeding with the full introduction of generative AI (DX Magazine).

Bank trends

In the banking and insurance industries, the ``gap between expectations and reality'' of AI has been pointed out as an issue, and its use in orchestrating customer experiences is progressing (SAS, The Financial Brand). In China, the city of Beijing has introduced a system that links AI usage status to corporate loans (Sixth Tone). The need for real-time decision-making and industry collaboration to combat fraud was pointed out (The Paypers). In South Korea, an analysis shows that while AI is creating jobs, young people in their 20s are being left behind (Korea JoongAng Daily).

Insurance trends

AI can help expand business volume, but there are reports that caution remains regarding model design (theinsurer.com). Some point out that the expansion of AI data centers is bringing new risks and opportunities to insurance companies (Carrier Management).

Trends in asset management and market transactions

Yahoo Finance reported that Anthropic's Claude has been introduced by Schwab and BlackRock, intensifying AI agent competition in the asset management field. Bracket22 builds a hedge fund management system using AI agents (TechEBlog). CSOP Asset Management lists Asia AI Bottleneck ETF on HKEX (TradingView). Blackstone reportedly acquired AI's data center cooling infrastructure ("plumbing") (Private Equity Professional). There are also reports that management companies are preparing billions of dollars of funds for Canada's infrastructure, AI, and private markets (Alternatives Watch). On the market side, Bessent faced tough questions at a House hearing about AI and the bond market (The Hill).

Fintech/payment trends

The panel pointed out that "trust" is essential for expanding autonomous commerce using AI agents (PYMNTS.com). Stripe and Meta collaborate to announce proxy payment function using AI agent “Muse” (Impress). SK Telecom proposes RCS standard for AI payments (thelec.net). Mastercard points out that virtual cards and AI are changing B2B payments (Mastercard). Nuvei integrates payment acceptance function with Kolleno's AI invoice processing platform (FintechNews CH).

Remarks from key figures and authorities in the financial world

- Larry Fink (BlackRock CEO): Said that tight demand for AI power in the US could lead to widening inequality (Startup Fortune). - No mention of other tracked individuals (Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, David Solomon, Brian Moynihan, Ted Pick, Ken Griffin, Paul Atkins) in the headline.

Trends in AI-related stocks and funding

It was reported that OpenAI is in talks to raise a new pre-IPO funding round at a valuation of $1.2T (Techzine Global). The impact of Anthropic's IPO on Amazon and Alphabet investors was discussed (Yahoo Finance). DataMEDS AI (NASDAQ:MEDS) shares soar after announcement of contract with Helomics (Benzinga). Coreline reports on CADDi, a manufacturing AI company funded by Salesforce Ventures (WSJ). Samsung co-led funding round for Dutch AI startup Euclyd (UA.NEWS). Transient.AI receives investment from Nasdaq Ventures (FinSMEs).

Trends in financial regulation and supervision

Zango's new report states that AI agents pose challenges to financial supervision, and has published an analysis with John Glen (MP) (FF News). In Japan, it was reported that the Financial Services Agency is proceeding with the full implementation of generative AI (AX), which will transform everything from policy planning to market surveillance (DX Magazine). At the Salesforce event, it was reported that there was a disagreement among AI developers over speed and safety (조선일보).

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

The introduction of Anthropic Claude by major asset management companies (BlackRock, Schwab) and OpenAI's $1.2T valuation raise indicate that the influx of capital into AI infrastructure has penetrated to the practical level of the asset management industry. Blackstone's acquisition of AI data center cooling infrastructure confirms that investment money is flowing into the physical infrastructure side (power and cooling) of the AI boom, and is consistent with Larry Fink's statement that "tighter demand for AI power will widen the gap." In the payments field, Stripe, Meta, and Mastercard are successively advancing to the implementation stage of autonomous payments (agentic commerce) using AI agents, and building trust has been repeatedly mentioned as a common issue in the industry. On the regulatory front, while Japan's Financial Services Agency is fully introducing generative AI into its internal operations, Zango analysis points out that AI agents are challenging the existing financial supervision framework itself, and the future focus will be on whether regulatory and supervisory systems can keep up with the speed of implementation.

Future points of interest

- How will OpenAI's $1.2T valuation raise and Anthropic's IPO observation affect investment decisions and portfolio composition of asset management companies? - Will the insurance industry's "distrust of general-purpose AI" lead to a shift in investment to industry-specific AI models? - What kind of supervisory framework will national authorities provide for the expansion of agentic commerce using AI agents?