Background

Jerome Powell co-convened an emergency meeting on 8 April 2026 alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, summoning the CEOs of Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs to discuss Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview , the first recorded instance of the Federal Reserve and Treasury jointly convening Wall Street leadership over a frontier AI system. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, whose firm is a Project Glasswing partner, was unable to attend.

Powell has served as Chair of the Federal Reserve since February 2018, appointed by President Trump and reappointed by President Biden. A lawyer by training, he is the first Chair without an economics doctorate since the 1980s. His tenure has spanned the Covid-era stimulus expansion, the most aggressive rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s to combat post-pandemic inflation, and now the structural labour market disruption driven by AI adoption across the US economy.

The Bessent-Powell meeting marks a pivot in how US financial regulators frame AI risk: from market stability and data privacy toward offensive cybersecurity capability in AI systems deployed across the financial sector. With Mythos scoring 83.1% on the CyberGym benchmark and autonomously identifying thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities, regulators appear to view frontier AI not only as an economic force but as a systemic security variable requiring direct central-bank oversight.

Common Questions

Why did Jerome Powell meet with bank CEOs about AI?

Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent co-summoned the CEOs of five major US banks on 8 April 2026 to discuss Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview, marking the first time the Fed and Treasury convened Wall Street leadership specifically over a frontier AI system's capabilities.Source: ai-jobs-power-money

What is Jerome Powell's background and how long has he led the Federal Reserve?

Powell has chaired the Federal Reserve since February 2018. A lawyer rather than an economist, he is the first Fed Chair without a doctorate in economics since the 1980s. He was appointed by Trump and reappointed by Biden.Source: ai-jobs-power-money

Is the Fed now treating AI as a financial stability risk?

The April 2026 meeting with bank CEOs over Claude Mythos Preview suggests the Fed and Treasury are beginning to treat advanced AI cybersecurity capabilities as a systemic financial-sector concern, though no formal regulatory framework has been announced.Source: ai-jobs-power-money

Is Jerome Powell still the Federal Reserve Chair?

No. Powell's term as Fed Chair ended on 22 May 2026, when Kevin Warsh was sworn in as his successor. Powell remains a Federal Reserve Governor, a seat that runs until January 2028.Source: Federal Reserve

How the World Sees Them

Anthropic

The meeting validates Anthropic's decision to restrict Mythos via Project Glasswing rather than open release, reinforcing its safety-first positioning.

Tech sector

The Fed's direct engagement raises the prospect of AI capability oversight becoming a financial regulation concern alongside existing securities and data rules.

US Congress

Bipartisan senators had already pressed for AI workforce data; the Powell-Bessent meeting suggests the executive branch is moving faster than legislation.

Wall Street

Bank CEOs arrived at Treasury to receive a classified briefing on Mythos capabilities, signalling regulators treat frontier AI as a systemic financial risk.