Citigroup and Bank of America (BofA) have blocked AI agents from accessing customer accounts, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Friday.

The move reflects concerns that deposits could flow out if agents move customer funds in search of higher returns.

Citigroup said it does not allow third-party AI agents or assistants to log into customer accounts or trade directly on its digital banking platforms, the report said. The company said the measure is aimed at protecting customer accounts and information.

Brian Moynihan (브라이언 모이니한), Bank of America CEO, also suggested it is limiting agents' access to deposits until it establishes a process to determine who bears ultimate responsibility for AI-approved payments.

Moynihan said this week that when money leaves an account, a person must approve it.

The measures come after Meta released its personal AI assistant, Muse, in September. Concerns have grown since Muse's launch that large sums could leave bank deposits if bots maximise returns on behalf of consumers. AI companies are racing to launch tools and chatbots to help consumers manage assets.

Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, warned in a report that AI assistants could automatically move household funds from demand deposit accounts with an average interest rate of 0.1 percent to accounts paying 3.3 to 5 percent interest.

Non-interest-bearing deposits held by JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo total $1.6 trillion. Paying 3 percent interest on that would cost $47 billion a year. That is close to half the three banks' combined annual profits.

JPMorgan is blocking external AI agents such as Meta's Muse and Instinct from accessing customer accounts, CNBC reported.

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO, said on a third-quarter earnings conference call that it would not let any external agent into the company, calling it too risky for both customers and JPMorgan, the report said.

JPMorgan also made clear that customers are responsible if they hand login information to an agent and the agent takes unwanted actions. A JPMorgan spokesperson said it does not allow a third party to obtain a customer's bank login information and access accounts on the customer's behalf.

Amazon has also prevented Meta's Muse from shopping on behalf of customers, citing privacy and security risks.