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Blockbuster Earnings, AI Impacts on Finance, Barrage of Fines

Hello everyone! We are back with the Risk Queue. There has already been a great deal of risk news in 2025, so let’s get you caught up.

-Enjoy, Naeem, CEO & Founder - Risk On Q

PICKS:

  1. Headline - Catching Up on Bank Earnings

  2. AI - Banking Jobs At Risk

  3. Regulatory - Barrage of Fines

Risk Headlines

Key Points:

Major Wall Street banks have demonstrated exceptional performance in Q4 2024, with JPMorgan Chase leading the pack with a 50% profit increase to $14bn, driven by substantial growth in investment banking and trading revenues.

Wall Street's major banks are demonstrating remarkable resilience and growth through strong profit performance and renewed dealmaking activity, signaling a broader market recovery despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges.

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Key Points:

The UK's delay of Basel 3.1 implementation to 2027 signals growing regulatory divergence with the US, where potential deregulation under Trump could create an uneven playing field. While the PRA indicates minimal capital impact for UK banks, the postponement reflects broader concerns about international competitiveness and regulatory arbitrage. The situation warrants close monitoring for strategic implications and competitive positioning.

A.I. Risk / Technology Risk

Key Points:

The research highlights a critical inflection point in AI adoption where early leaders are creating self-reinforcing advantages through superior execution capabilities. The shortened ROI timeline suggests reduced implementation risk but heightened competitive pressure. The emphasis on data quality and management particularly impacts banks, which must leverage their existing data advantages while modernizing infrastructure.

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Key Points:

Major financial institutions face unprecedented workforce transformation with AI projected to eliminate 200,000 jobs while driving a 12-17% increase in pre-tax profits by 2027. The impact will disproportionately affect back-office and entry-level positions, requiring significant reskilling initiatives and strategic workforce planning to maintain competitive advantage.

Regulatory News - Fines, Losses, & Rules

Wave of Enforcement Actions for Major Financial Institutions from the SEC, FED, DOJ, & OCC - source government agencies

Key Points:

A wave of regulatory enforcement actions against major financial institutions signals intensifying supervision and compliance expectations, with fines exceeding $400M collectively. The actions span sales practices, AML compliance, consumer protection, and disclosure requirements, suggesting broad regulatory focus on conduct risk and compliance culture.

  • Multiple major regulatory actions against top financial institutions

  • Significant fines ($230M AmEx, $106M Vanguard, $60M Wells/Merrill)

  • Widespread compliance failures across industry

  • Record SEC enforcement activity in Q1 FY2025

  • Systemic BSA/AML issues (BofA, LPL)

Institution

Fine Amount

Key Violations

Regulatory Agency

American Express

$230M

Sales practices

DOJ/Fed

Vanguard

$106M

Disclosure failures

SEC/States

Wells/Merrill

$60M

Cash sweep compliance

SEC

LPL

$18M

AML violations

SEC

Risk Data to Geek Out On

What would you like to see in this section? Let me know your suggestions and we will work on getting them included.

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Thank you for reading,

Naeem

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