Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued an urgent warning on Sunday, May 3, telling Americans 'You should' be worried about artificial intelligence being used to hack their bank accounts. This warning came after an unscheduled emergency meeting in April with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and major Wall Street bank CEOs, prompted by concerns surrounding Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI model. Bessent explained that 'What we've had in the past month was a step change in the power of one large language model' and warned 'We're going to see it from the other AI companies.' The new AI model has demonstrated the capability to identify and exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities across all major operating systems and browsers, representing a qualitative leap in the threat environment facing financial institutions.
Punjab National Bank is significantly increasing its cybersecurity spending by over 50% this financial year, with the country's third largest state-run lender by market capitalisation earmarking approximately ₹7,000-₹8,000 crore for cybersecurity protection, as reported by Reuters. Executive director D Surendran confirmed that this allocation represents more than 50% higher than the previous year, with the bank making substantial investments in technology to protect against digital threats, including those posed by advanced AI models. Surendran emphasized the bank's commitment to this expenditure, stating 'We don't want to compromise on this kind of expenditure,' adding that the bank will increase spending further if required. The bank has allocated about 20% of its technology budget specifically for cybersecurity, demonstrating its strategic prioritization of digital defense capabilities.
PNB's cybersecurity enhancement comes amid heightened regulatory focus on risks emerging from advanced AI models, including Anthropic's Mythos, as reported by Reuters. Last month, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with heads of top banks to gauge preparedness against AI-related cybersecurity risks. India's central bank has also been in discussions with global regulators, lenders and government officials to understand the potential risks, according to Reuters reports. The New-Delhi based lender's proactive approach reflects the broader industry concern about emerging AI-related security vulnerabilities, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell framing the stakes plainly: 'Cybersecurity remains one of the most critical risks facing the banking sector, and advancements in AI are likely to intensify these challenges.'
The bank is fast-tracking purchases of security tools, including firewalls and other systems to address vulnerabilities, as reported by Reuters. PNB has also accelerated its audit processes, with Surendran stating 'We have increased our frequency of audit... now we have made our audit process 24/7 so that the criticality will be identified fast,' according to Reuters. This comprehensive approach to security enhancement demonstrates the bank's commitment to maintaining robust cyber defenses against evolving digital threats, particularly as the government warns that 'AI tools capable of identifying software vulnerabilities at scale represent a qualitative leap in the threat environment' that traditional cybersecurity defenses weren't designed to counter.
Despite the increased cybersecurity focus, PNB reported strong financial results with a more than 14% rise in net profit to ₹5,225 crore, helped by healthy loan growth and improving asset quality, as reported by Reuters. The bank's latest financial performance shows loans grew 12.7% year-on-year while deposits rose 9.2%. The New-Delhi based lender targets 12-13% loan growth for financial year 2026/27, driven by credit to small and medium-sized enterprises and retail loans, with deposits expected to grow around 9-10% for the year, according to Surendran's statements to Reuters.
