Barclays CEO warns Anthropic's Mythos AI model poses a serious systemic threat to global banking as Anthropic enters EU regulatory dialogue on cyber security models

Barclays Chief Executive C. S. Venkatakrishnan has publicly described Anthropic's frontier AI model Mythos as a serious threat to the global banking system, adding that it is likely to be followed by even more powerful cyber threats. The statement, made in Washington, marks a significant escalation in senior banking leadership's public engagement with AI-specific systemic risk — framing an AI model not merely as a tool but as an active threat vector. Separately, the European Commission confirmed that Anthropic is in active discussions with Brussels on its range of AI models, including its cyber security models, which are not yet available in the EU. Anthropic has already committed to respect the EU's General Purpose AI (GPAI) code of practice, a voluntary framework under the EU AI Act that applies to developers of large-scale foundation models. The convergence of these two stories creates a clear legal architecture: Barclays's concerns map directly onto the EU AI Act's systemic risk provisions, which require GPAI model developers to conduct adversarial testing, report serious incidents, and maintain cybersecurity protections specifically designed to prevent their models from being used to destabilise critical infrastructure — including financial services. For UK lawyers, the UK AI Safety Institute and the FCA's own model risk guidance become directly relevant as the question of AI-generated cyber threats to banks moves from theoretical to board-level concern.

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