AI & Finance News — 2026-09-25 (Fri)

Overview

As AI agents enter the implementation stage in payments, transactions, and insurance underwriting, banks are acting on both security concerns and legacy renewal. In the insurance field, increased costs and appraisal conflicts due to AI have surfaced, and BlackRock is expanding investment in AI infrastructure.

Bank trends

Banks are warning that AI shopping agents increase the risk of fraud, abuse, and data leaks (Fox Business). It was reported that fintech companies tend to be preferred over traditional banks due to AI models (American Banker). According to an analysis (PYMNTS.com), AI is expanding the options for upgrading banks' core systems. Cyera, a company that helps secure AI agents, raises $400m from Goldman Sachs (FinTech Global).

Insurance trends

The NYTimes reported that an appraisal battle between hospital AI and insurance company AI is pushing up medical costs. Vox points out that AI is already involved in determining whether or not to receive medical benefits. Reuters reports that AI tools have resulted in approximately $1 billion in additional costs for Blue Cross insurers. Misinformation and deepfakes are the most commonly reported AI coverage risks for insurance companies, Risk & Insurance reported. InsuranceNewsNet also reported concerns that AI could lower employee morale.

Trends in asset management and market transactions

It was reported that BlackRock is evolving its AI-related investment stance by reorganizing its model portfolio (Bloomberg). Yahoo Finance reports that BlackRock has invested $25 billion in AI data centers in Asia. BlackRock has expressed the view that stablecoins can become an AI payment layer that connects commerce and computational resources (AI Insider). Wealth Management has introduced a new AI agent. On the trading side, Public is linking AI trading agents with prediction market Kalshi (Fortune, Barron's), and FirstMark and Chemistry have invested in a startup building a dedicated exchange for AI computational resources (WSJ). Bloomberg analyzes that the IPO of new cloud company Nscale shows that it is more than an AI intermediary.

Fintech/payment trends

Stripe's AI executive introduced the growth of the AI company, with a growth rate of 175% and 48% of sales outside of its home country (saastr.com). Cleverbridge announced that it has implemented the first AI agent-driven payment in France with Visa and Revolt (Business Wire). Mastercard is working to connect SME growth, AI, and cybersecurity (FinTech Magazine). Kredete acquires agent stablecoin infrastructure Gravv (FinTech Futures).

Remarks from key figures and authorities in the financial world

No specific statements or actions by the key figures tracked in this report (Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink, Jane Fraser, David Solomon, Brian Moynihan, Ted Pick, Ken Griffin, and Paul Atkins) were identified in the headlines. There have been reports about BlackRock (model portfolio restructuring, $25 billion investment in Asia AI data center, stablecoin positioning), but Larry Fink himself has not mentioned anything. It was reported that Franklin Templeton's CEO gave a "seven-word opinion" to AI stock investors, but details of his name and title and the content of his remarks were not listed in the headline (thestreet.com).

Trends in AI-related stocks and funding

Cybersecurity company Island reaches valuation of $6.4 billion (Reuters, WHTC). OpenEvidence, dubbed "ChatGPT for doctors," has raised a new round of funding at a valuation of $15 billion (Business Insider). Spanish AI startup Reply Next has raised €400,000 pre-seed (Dealroom). Cyera raised $400m from Goldman Sachs (FinTech Global, supra).

Trends in financial regulation and supervision

A review of the current legal system regarding AI financial services has been published (Center for Democracy and Technology). New York state may be able to share Frontier AI safety reports across the United States without new legislation, Lawfare reported. The EU Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has put AI and tokenization on the regulator’s agenda for 2027, reports unchainedcrypto. In Japan, the Australian government revealed that AI had illegally infiltrated the public health insurance system, and that an AI developed by OpenAI was involved, and it was reported that notification to the government was delayed by three months (TBS NEWS DIG).

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

Future points of interest

- To what extent will the assessment conflicts between insurance companies and medical institutions' AIs affect medical costs and insurance premiums? - How far will AI agent-based payments (Visa, Revolut, Kalshi, etc.) expand across major payment networks? - How will the New York State/EU AI safety reporting framework be implemented in AI supervision of financial institutions?

Overview

While Citi has introduced AI in risk screening, a regulatory gap has emerged in which guidelines from authorities are not yet developed (Forbes). In the insurance industry, it has been pointed out that the use of AI is intensifying disputes with hospitals and increasing the burden on patients (Common Dreams). Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic are considering establishing an AI safety standards organization by 2027 (The Times of India, finance.biggo.com).

Bank trends

Citiでは融資審査プロセスの最初にAIがリスクをレビューする体制が導入されたが、ワシントン（米当局）はこれに対応する指針を持たないとForbesが報じた（Forbes）。 BNP Paribas has partnered with Google Cloud in the field of agent AI and cloud (Markets Media). IllumioはEUの銀行レジリエンスとフロンティアAIの関係を論じ、Pinnacle Financial Partnersは財務管理におけるAIの機会とリスク拡大を指摘した（Illumio、Pinnacle Financial Partners）。 Barclays follows HSBC and Tom Lee in raising its S&P 500 target based on AI results (Stocktwits).

Insurance trends

Although insurance companies are bullish on the use of AI, a survey has revealed that policyholders still prefer human assistance (Insurance Business). Life Insurance International points out that AI can be both a threat and an opportunity for insurance companies in terms of dispute resolution. S&P Global Ratings found that good AI governance separates insurance companies from winners and losers (Insurance Business). There are also reports that the battle over AI between insurance companies and hospitals has pushed up patient prices by about $1 billion (Common Dreams). Oracle has sent a “force majeure” notice over its troubled AI data center (Impakter).

Trends in asset management and market transactions

Stocktwits reported that BlackRock has joined Meta's $14 billion data center business (Stocktwits). BNP Paribas Asset Management discussed the climate challenges and opportunities of AI (BNP Paribas Asset Management). PE funds are progressing with individual optimization of strategies using AI amidst intensifying competition (Law360). Reuters opined that AI challenges are forcing the trading industry's legacy forces to change (Reuters). Dow・S&P 500・Nasdaq先物はAmazon・Apple等のビッグテック決算を受けAI関連取引の勢いが復活し上昇したとStocktwitsが報じた（Stocktwits）。 Oracle株の下落がAI関連投資と長期金利（2007年以来の高水準）の耐性を試しているとFXEmpireが指摘（FXEmpire）。 In the Japanese market, the Nikkei average rose 1.2% due to purchases of AI-related stocks and purchases aimed at dividends (The Economic Times).

Fintech/payment trends

Block has added support for Bitcoin Lightning Network to its payment protocol “x402” (bloomingbit, BigGo Finance). AxLabs has released “Simple Agent Wallet” for autonomous AI payments on EVM, Solana, and Hedera (Neo News Today). LoanPro announced a new payment, loan execution, and AI servicing tool (Finovate). PYMNTS.com commented that building an AI agent is "no longer the most difficult challenge" in agent-based commerce (PYMNTS.com).

Remarks from key figures and authorities in the financial world

We were unable to confirm any of the headlines reporting direct statements or actions by the key figures being tracked (Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink, Jane Fraser, David Solomon, Brian Moynihan, Ted Pick, Ken Griffin, and Paul Atkins).

Trends in AI-related stocks and funding

An analysis by Yahoo Finance shows that three Canadian AI-related stocks have room for up to 85% upside compared to fair value. An article explaining AI investment in Wayve, a British AI company that operates a self-driving taxi business in London, has been published (Morningstar). AlphaGo co-developer raises funding for AI startup (Briefs Finance). Meta's AI "Muse" could become a new multi-billion dollar revenue stream, according to an analysis (Seeking Alpha). At Dealroom, Lemkin and O'Driscoll discussed the AI bubble, Muse, and new seed-stage funding formulas (Dealroom).

Trends in financial regulation and supervision

The Financial Times discussed how AI can address financial risks (Financial Times). It has been reported that Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic may jointly come up with AI safety standards by early 2027, and there are also reports that the establishment of an independent AI safety standards organization is being considered as early as this year (The Times of India, finance.biggo.com). As mentioned above, it has also been pointed out that there are no guidelines from the US authorities regarding Citi's AI-based risk assessment that has been raised as a regulatory issue (Forbes).

Daiwa Securities has fully adopted LayerX's "Ai Workforce" at its inheritance business bases, expanding AI-based support for determining heirs and creating inheritance relationship diagrams to its bases nationwide (PR TIMES, bizzine.jp). Dai-ichi Life Asset Management Economic Research Institute discussed whether AI stocks will be more selective in Japan's 3% long-term interest rate environment (Dai-ichi Life Asset Management Economic Research Institute). WSJ reported that even in the age of AI, "cash is king" (WSJ).

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

AI is being implemented first in banking and insurance, and AI is being incorporated into the core of decision-making processes, such as Citi's risk screening AI (Forbes) and Daiwa Securities' introduction of inheritance business AI (PR TIMES). On the other hand, the regulatory gaps pointed out by Forbes and the increase in patient costs due to intensifying disputes between insurance and hospitals (Common Dreams) indicate a structure in which governance and regulatory responses have not kept up with the speed of implementation. On the market side, funds are still flowing heavily into the AI infrastructure and data centers of major tech companies, as seen in BlackRock's investment in Meta data center and Barclays' bullish forecast for AI earnings (Stocktwits), but Oracle's "force majeure" notice and the combination of Oracle's stock decline and long-term interest rates rising (Impakter, FXEmpire) suggest that the cost of financing AI investments and the risk of implementing infrastructure are rising at the same time. In the field of payments, the development of infrastructure that allows autonomous AI agents to directly make payments, such as x402 and Simple Agent Wallet, is progressing (bloomingbit, Neo News Today), and this may become a new frontier where regulatory gaps will expand. On the regulatory side, while the private sector-led safety standards group initiative by Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic (The Times of India) is making progress, the response from the financial authorities (Citi case) appears to be lagging behind, and the disconnect between industry and authorities may become a point of contention in the future.

Future points of interest

- Whether US authorities (Federal Reserve, OCC, etc.) will provide specific supervisory guidance for AI-driven risk reviews like Citi. - The concrete image of the AI safety standards organization envisioned by Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, and whether it will have any impact on the financial industry. - The impact of Oracle's data center problems and high interest rate environment on the sustainability of major tech companies' AI infrastructure investments (including investments by BlackRock and others).