{"id":466200,"date":"2026-09-28T17:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/09\/28\/lagarde-mette-in-guardia-dalla-bolla-dellia-rischi-sui-mercati-per-il-debito-delle-imprese\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T18:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T16:17:18","slug":"lagarde-warns-of-an-ai-bubble-risks-to-the-markets-from-corporate-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/28\/lagarde-warns-of-an-ai-bubble-risks-to-the-markets-from-corporate-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Lagarde warns of an AI “bubble”: risks to the markets from corporate debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 Artificial intelligence: a term synonymous with potential, but also with risks \u2013 including for the financial markets. The picture is outlined by Christine Lagarde<\/strong>, President of the European Central Bank, who, during a hearing before the European Parliament\u2019s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament, highlighted that \u201cinvestment activity in AI will also depend on what happens in the financial markets and on whether or not the risks associated with the boom in AI financing materialise.<\/strong>\u201d Currently, \u201cglobal equity valuations are concentrated in a relatively small number of AI-related companies that are also rapidly increasing their debt levels.\u201d Therefore, \u201ca sharp reassessment of the prospects for AI companies and the sustainability of their debt could trigger market corrections and have repercussions for investors in the euro area and the wider economy,<\/strong>\u201d Lagarde stated. <\/p>\n

Beyond this point, however, Lagarde believes the EU must take action and \u201ccreate the conditions for AI to boost productivity and living standards, while safeguarding our sovereignty in this area.\u201d As for the ECB, the task will be \u201cclear,\u201d namely to \u201cclosely monitor and study the impact of AI on productivity, investment, labour markets, financial conditions, and inflation, in order to continue to fulfil our mandate of maintaining price stability.\u201d What is certain is that, although the precise effects of AI are \u201cuncertain,\u201d<\/strong> \u201cuncertainty does not justify inaction.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

 Lagarde outlines the strengths of AI. Its potential \u201cto transform the way we produce, work and innovate,\u201d to the extent that it is forecast that by 2026, businesses will allocate around 10 per cent of total investment to AI, while funding linked to this technology already accounts for roughly a quarter of the growth in corporate lending. \u201cAI could significantly boost productivity, competitiveness, and living standards in Europe,\u201d she states, adding that according to ECB estimates, the improvement can be quantified as an increase in GDP of between 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent per annum over a decade<\/strong>. This would be the \u201cresult of the widespread dissemination and adoption of AI\u201d and would represent \u201ca considerable figure which, were it to materialise, would radically change many aspects.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the ECB\u2019s President, \u201cEurope has a real opportunity to harness this technology<\/strong>, but success is by no means guaranteed.<\/strong>\u201d As regards businesses, AI has the potential \u201cto help companies produce more and, over time, greater productivity could reduce costs,\u201d which, \u201call other things being equal, should ease inflationary pressures in the long term.\u201d But all this will depend on \u201cits uptake in the economy.\u201d Some signs are \u201cencouraging,\u201d but they are not enough. According to an ECB survey<\/a>, by the end of 2025, 38 per cent of firms in the euro area had already reported at least moderate use of AI. \u201cHowever, only 7 per cent reported significant use,<\/strong>\u201d  Lagarde explains. To unlock the full potential of AI, Europe will need \u201csubstantial investment.\u201d For now, although they are \u201con the rise,\u201d they remain \u201cstill lagging behind the United States,\u201d even if the 30 billion euros for AI Gigafactories<\/a>, for developing advanced AI in the EU, “are a good start.”  <\/p>\n

In the workplace, AI will change the tasks carried out and the skills required<\/strong>. Here, \u201cit will be important how the benefits of AI are distributed,\u201d notes Lagarde, pointing out that over 50 per cent of workers already use AI in their work. \u201cAnd so far<\/strong>, on the whole, companies are continuing to hire<\/strong>. In fact, survey data suggest that companies making significant use of AI are more likely to take on new staff during the transition phase,\u201d she explains. But there is one difference to bear in mind<\/strong>: \u201cCompanies that use AI to support research<\/strong>, innovation, and new products tend to hire<\/strong>, while those that use it primarily to reduce labour costs are cutting jobs.<\/strong>\u201d Therefore, the key question will be whether, in the long term and for the economy as a whole, \u201cAI will primarily complement workers or replace them.\u201d Income levels, demand and, ultimately, inflation will depend on this, but the picture remains unclear. \u201cHistorically, major technological advances have not reduced employment, but it is not yet clear whether AI will prove to be any different,<\/strong>\u201d notes Lagarde. <\/p>\n

In conclusion, according to the head of the European Central Bank, \u201cEurope must foster innovation in the field of AI,<\/strong>\u201d which, in other words, means \u201creducing fragmentation in the single market, promoting the savings and investment union, and accelerating the energy transition.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cEU initiatives, including AI factories, testing facilities, and regulatory sandboxes, can also help ensure that ideas move more quickly from research to commercial application. And there is scope for innovation in many sectors: from greener chips to more efficient algorithms.\u201d Secondly, \u201cEurope must build greater independence<\/strong>\u201d by strengthening the underdeveloped critical parts of the AI value chain. \u201cThe aim is not self-sufficiency,\u201d but \u201cto ensure that critical functions can operate under any circumstances.\u201d Thirdly: \u201cEurope must implement AI on a large scale.<\/strong>\u201d In other words, the adoption of this technology must \u201cextend beyond a small group of technology leaders,\u201d and businesses must use it \u201cthoroughly and effectively.\u201d This will require \u201ctargeted support for reskilling programmes to address the severe shortage of AI-related skills and ensure that the workforce can adapt to this momentous transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Setting aside the risks, the ECB President, speaking at a hearing before the European Parliament\u2019s Committee on Economic Affairs, outlined the benefits of the rapid and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence: \u201cAn increase in productivity of between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent per year over a decade\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7874,"featured_media":466180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25705,25710],"tags":[26112,35953,35954,25741,28885,26908,33015,26633,29737,26221,33394],"class_list":["post-466200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-net-tech-en","tag-bce-en","tag-benefici","tag-bolla-ia","tag-debt-en","tag-ia-and","tag-lagarde-en-2","tag-mercati","tag-pills","tag-productivity-en","tag-rischi-en","tag-ue"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466200"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":466201,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466200\/revisions\/466201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}