HONG KONG, April 29 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs has removed access to Anthropic’s Claude for its bankers in Hong Kong, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said, as banks step up scrutiny of AI tools due to growing sensitivity over data security and cyber risks.
Employees of the Wall Street bank in the Chinese territory were previously able to interact with Claude through an internal AI platform, the source told Reuters, adding that in recent weeks they have no longer had access to it.
Other AI models such as Gemini and ChatGPT were still available on Goldman’s platform, said the source, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Goldman declined to comment. Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Financial Times first reported the removal of access to Claude on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain the reason for the move, which the FT said was a result of Goldman taking a strict interpretation of its contract with Anthropic following a consultation with the company.
Goldman concluded that the bank’s employees in Hong Kong, its main business hub in the Asia Pacific region, should not be able to use any Anthropic products, the newspaper said.
Hong Kong is not listed as a market where Anthropic’s API and Claude.ai are officially accessible, according to the company’s website.
Goldman’s restriction on staff in Hong Kong comes amid rising tension between the U.S. and China over AI technology, data security and access to advanced computing tools – topics that will be in focus during a planned mid-May summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing.
While AI models built by U.S. firms are not available in mainland China, Hong Kong has mostly remained a market where some models operate, with usage limits set by U.S. companies.
Anthropic’s spokesperson told the FT that Claude models had never been officially “supported” in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) declined to comment on Goldman’s move.
RISKS TO BANKING SYSTEM
While most global tech platforms operate in Hong Kong, the world’s leading AI companies do not offer access to mainland-based users and in the recent past have expressed concern about their models being used by Chinese rivals for training.
The U.S. government last week issued a global warning about alleged AI thefts by Chinese AI operators, Reuters reported citing an official document.
In 2024, OpenAI moved to restrict China traffic to its application programming interface (API), a platform that allows developers of other products to integrate its AI models.
Reuters could not immediately confirm whether other banks or companies had also moved to limit Claude access in Hong Kong.
Goldman’s move in Hong Kong also comes as Anthropic’s latest AI model Mythos has drawn scrutiny from global banks and financial regulators over potential risks to banking systems.
HKMA, Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, told Reuters that it has contacted “a range of major banks” to understand the latest developments around Mythos and remind them to update risk assessment and take appropriate measures.
Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti said in February Goldman was working with Anthropic to develop AI-powered agents aimed at automating a widening range of functions.
(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City, Selena Li and Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong, additional reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong, Yantoultra Ngui and Rae Wee in Singapore and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Stephen Coates, Kate Mayberry and Alexander Smith)
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