Information asymmetry didn’t die in 2026. It just learned better PR
In the same month a leading fintech publication declared that “information asymmetry is dead,” Singapore’s largest bank was teaching its flagship AI assistant to handle card refunds. Both claims are about artificial intelligence. Neither describes the same world. The claim making the rounds The Fintech Times’ 2026 banking trends report argues that agentic AI has […] The post Information asymmetry…
Despite claims that information asymmetry has disappeared with the rise of artificial intelligence, a closer look reveals that banks still hold the upper hand. In 2026, the Fintech Times reported that agentic AI had ended the advantage institutions had over their customers, but this overlooks the reality. Bloomberg AI-powered earnings call summaries use models trained by analysts to spot crucial changes, while retail investors are using general-purpose AI like ChatGPT, but with limited results.
Alpha Arena's trading competition demonstrated that frontier models struggled to generate profits without the sophisticated infrastructure that only Bloomberg possesses. Singapore's digital banks serve as a microcosm of this disparity, with some offering proprietary forecasting models while others provide basic AI features. The key takeaway is that true AI power lies in robust data infrastructure, not just the presence of AI on a user's device.
Until banks and tech companies bridge this gap by sharing their data infrastructure, information asymmetry remains intact, existing in a subtle form behind user-friendly interfaces.
Written by urgent.news from e27's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.