Artificial intelligence topped the worry list in the Federal Reserve’s latest financial-stability survey, with 87% of contacts citing it as a risk, up from 50% in May. The report, released Friday, November 13, 2026, highlighted concerns about stock valuations, cybersecurity and complex financing, Reuters reported. First place, minus the victory lap. Source
The survey ran in September and October, with respondents including market participants, economists, analysts and institutional sources. The percentages measure how many of those contacts flagged a risk—not the odds of a crisis or the Fed’s own ranking of threats. Source Source
Respondents worried that lower-than-expected company earnings could undermine the high values investors place on stocks and trigger a broader market decline. They also highlighted cybersecurity threats, whether from sophisticated state-backed attackers or damage caused by advanced AI models themselves, alongside risks from complicated AI-related financing, according to the report as quoted by CNBC. Source
The Fed said stock valuations remained high partly because of enthusiasm for AI, although concerns about companies’ investment spending and plans to issue debt had tempered that enthusiasm, Bloomberg reported. Source
The buildout has a financing department
Newly issued advanced computing-related debt reached $680 billion by October 2026—five times the amount issued during all of 2023, Reuters reported, citing the Fed. Such borrowing accounted for nearly a third of all new investment-grade corporate debt issued by nonfinancial companies, up from less than 6% three years earlier. Investment-grade debt carries ratings indicating relatively low risk of nonpayment; nonfinancial companies are businesses outside finance. Source
Large cloud-computing operators, often called hyperscalers, and other big firms can help smaller third parties finance infrastructure projects through long-term contracts, leases and guarantees. A guarantee is a promise to cover another party’s financial obligation. Chip designers and hyperscalers also invest in return for ownership stakes, Reuters reported. The servers aren’t the only things getting connected. Source
Data collected by the Fed indicated that debt, guarantees and not-yet-started leases on this infrastructure could together exceed $3 trillion. That is not $3 trillion of debt already issued or an estimate of expected losses. Source
The Fed said this “circular financing” could let the largest firms absorb losses during a downturn, limiting damage to the broader financial system. But those firms could also have substantially more money at risk than the debts and other obligations recorded on their balance sheets suggest, Reuters reported. Source
The report otherwise found the financial system fairly stable, CNBC reported. Source But the Fed warned that an unexpected earnings downturn could drive markets lower, make borrowing harder and reduce investment, weighing on the economy, according to Reuters. Source
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