Is there a turbulent undercurrent beneath the "AI frenzy"? Wall Street's top executive: The current environment reminds me of the pre-2008 crisis!

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. commercial bank often called the “Wall Street King,” Jamie Dimon, said on Monday that he is concerned about the U.S. economy. He pointed out that high asset prices and intense banking competition remind him of the years leading up to the 2008 crisis.

Although many economists praise the Trump administration’s tax cuts and deregulation policies for boosting economic growth this year, Dimon stated at the annual investor conference that he tends to consider what problems might arise when expectations are high.

“I personally think people are starting to believe these are real—these high asset prices and huge trading volumes are real, and we won’t face any problems,” he said.

Dimon further stated that economic cycles inevitably change, leading to a wave of borrower defaults, which will broadly impact lenders and often affect industries people don’t expect.

“One day, a cycle will come… I don’t know what factors will trigger this cycle. I am very anxious about it,” Dimon said. “High asset prices don’t make me feel secure. In fact, I think they increase the risk.”

Despite recent weeks’ market turbulence caused by concerns that AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI could disrupt many industries (especially software companies), the broader S&P 500 index is not far from its all-time high.

Meanwhile, fears over loans related to artificial intelligence, coupled with the recent announcement by U.S. asset management firm Blue Owl Capital that it had to sell assets to meet investor withdrawals, have dealt a heavy blow to private credit institutions, sparking market panic.

This event led to declines in the stocks of major alternative asset managers like Apollo, KKR, and Blackstone, prompting some market observers to wonder if a broader credit market downturn has already begun.

“There are always unexpected developments in credit cycles,” Dimon said. “Usually, the most surprising are the sectors most affected. In 2008 and 2009, you wouldn’t have expected utilities and telecoms to be impacted, and this time, due to the rise of AI, the software industry might be hit first.”

Dimon also expressed support for his deputies’ earlier comments on private credit during investor events. Troy Rohrbaugh, co-head of the bank’s Commercial Banking and Investment Banking, said he believes the credit issues are unlikely to be limited to private credit firms alone but will “spread more broadly.”

Rohrbaugh said, “Currently, it seems to be happening in only a few places, but that can change easily, and we are prepared for it.”

Finally, regarding the current situation, Dimon warned that the environment is similar to the three years before the 2008 financial crisis, because “everyone is making a lot of money, people are leveraging, and anything is possible.”

He pointed out that some financial companies are now doing “stupid things” in pursuit of interest income through loans and investments.