Citi CEO Says Higher Rates Unlikely to Dent AI Investment

The framing matters more than the forecast: AI capex is being treated as insensitive to the cost of capital, which implies it is being underwritten on strategic necessity rather than near-term return. That view, coming from a major bank chief, also signals where lenders see durable financing demand even in a higher-rate regime. The open question is whether that conviction holds if rates stay elevated longer than expected, or if it is simply an untested assumption while spending is still rising.