AI-Driven Cyber Threats Could Become Banking’s Biggest Risk, JPMorgan Says

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-driven-cyber-threats-could-135655966.html

Publish Date: 2026-07-04 09:56:00

Cybersecurity ©Peachaya Tanomsup

JPMorgan believes cyber risk is emerging as one of the most underestimated threats facing the banking industry, warning that advances in artificial intelligence could make future cyber-driven liquidity crises more severe than traditional credit shocks.

According to analyst Kian Abouhossein, cutting-edge AI models such as Mythos and GPT-5.5 are dramatically shortening the time needed to identify previously undiscovered software vulnerabilities, reducing banks’ ability to respond before systems are compromised.

“Significantly reduce the timeline for discovering previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities from months and years to hours,” the report said.

Rather than focusing primarily on regulatory capital, JPMorgan argued that supervisors should place greater importance on operational resilience.

“Looking at cybersecurity risk through the lens of the capital framework is not the best approach,” Abouhossein wrote, recommending broader resilience testing and liquidity stress scenarios that simulate rapid deposit withdrawals triggered by cyber incidents.

The bank also highlighted the amplifying role of social media, warning it could fuel “unprecedented volatility in deposit flows” during a cyber crisis, similar to the market dynamics witnessed during Credit Suisse’s collapse.

JPMorgan believes U.S. banks currently hold an advantage because of larger technology investments and faster adoption of advanced AI capabilities, while European lenders remain comparatively more exposed.

The report concluded that banks with larger, stickier deposit franchises could increasingly command valuation premiums, adding that U.S. globally systemic banks may deserve higher valuations than European and Japanese peers because investors are likely to place greater value on stronger cyber preparedness.

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