The Kobeissi Letter, a financial markets commentary publication, posted on X on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at 02:29:49 UTC, that "AI infrastructure spending is driving a sharp increase in US bank lending: Commercial and Industrial (C&I) loans at large US banks surged +11.4% YoY in October, to $1.6 trillion, the most since June 2020. This also marked their largest YoY growth since February 2023." The post further noted that "In Q3, C&I loans at the 25 largest US banks grew almost +10.0% YoY, the strongest growth in 10 years excluding pandemic-related swings. This represents a sharp reversal from an -8.0% YoY contraction in Q4 2025. The surge has been driven by rising borrowing demand from Big Tech companies and data-center developers to fund AI infrastructure projects. At the same time, regional lenders are providing credit to construction companies and other businesses benefiting from the investment boom. The data-center buildout is increasingly being funded by debt."
Recent Gokhshtein coverage has highlighted the intense activity in the artificial intelligence sector, with reports on Oracle's $10 billion stock sale and AMD's 26% share price rout following earnings. Anthropic's 1,127% revenue growth also illustrated the widening gap between AI winners and losers. This suggests strong investment, but also volatility, within the AI space, making funding trends particularly relevant.
The Kobeissi Letter's analysis suggests that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is a significant driver of credit demand in the U.S. banking system. This indicates that companies are increasingly leveraging debt to finance large-scale AI projects. Investors may want to monitor bank lending reports and the capital expenditure plans of major tech companies for continued insights into the AI investment cycle.
