UNITED STATES DOLLARS AND SILVER: A "UNPRECEDENTED SURGE" IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BY WALL STREET AND REGIONAL BANKS

ON 31 AUGUST, THE UNITED STATES TEAM OF BANK ANALYSTS STATED THAT THE “UNPRECEDENTED SURGE” IN AI SPENDING WAS BRINGING WIN-WIN SITUATIONS TO WALL STREET'S TRADING AND PHYSICAL BANKS. WALL STREET IS BENEFITING FROM DEBT FINANCING, EQUITY ISSUES AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS, WHILE REGIONAL BANKS HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE EXTENSIVE SPILLOVER EFFECTS OF THE AI DATA CENTRE CONSTRUCTION ON THE LOCAL ECONOMY. THE LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT OF AI, QUOTED BY YOUNG WEIDA CEO WONG IN-HOON, INDICATES THAT THE BANK HAS CREATED SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AREA OF LOANS AND CAPITAL MARKETS. THE AI CAPITAL EXPENDITURE CYCLE PLAYS A BROAD ROLE IN BOOSTING WALL STREET BANK REVENUES, COVERING A NUMBER OF ASPECTS, INCLUDING FACILITATING AI-RELATED DEBT FINANCING, BOOSTING IPO ACTIVITIES AND GENERATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT. ALTHOUGH MOST REGIONAL BANKS ARE NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN LOANS OR UNDERWRITING OF MEGA-DATA CENTRES, THE SECOND AND THIRD DERIVATIVE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTRE CONSTRUCTION ARE PUSHING UP LOCAL DEMAND FOR LOANS. THE BANK ESTIMATES THAT ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2026 WAS DUE TO AI CAPITAL SPENDING, WHILE THE REST WAS DRIVEN LARGELY BY CONSUMER SPENDING BOOSTED BY AI-LED EMPLOYMENT AND WEALTH CREATION. THE DATA CONFIRM THIS TREND. ACCORDING TO THE BANK, THE GROWTH RATE OF LOANS INCREASED FROM 7.1 PER CENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD QUARTER TO 7.5 PER CENT ON A YEAR-ON-YEAR BASIS, WITH COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LOANS INCREASING FROM 8.6 PER CENT TO 10.0 PER CENT。