BIS Warns: Beware of High Leverage Amid the AI Frenzy

Odaily reports: In its latest quarterly assessment, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), known as the "central bank of central banks," issued a warning that alongside the rapid rise in leverage and the growing opacity of underlying debt structures, the financial vulnerabilities underpinning this round of exuberance are intensifying.

This risk warning is not unfounded. In July of this year, the Situational Awareness fund, helmed by Leopold Aschenbrenner, staged a harrowing episode. The fund had placed heavy bets on the AI sector, but a sharp drop in the valuation of its underlying assets triggered a wave of margin calls from banks, ultimately forcing it to urgently transfer the core holdings of its public market equity portfolio to Ken Griffin's Citadel in order to barely survive the liquidity crisis.

In the BIS's view, this incident is a typical microcosm of leveraged hedge funds becoming deeply entangled in core markets. Frank Smets, Head of Economic Analysis and Statistics at the BIS, pointed out that cross-market leverage is concerning, as it can easily amplify normal market fluctuations into severe systemic shocks. The near-miss of AI-themed hedge funds has once again laid this risk bare.