New York City Comptroller Mark Levine has urged artificial intelligence company Anthropic to pause its planned initial public offering. The call for a suspension comes amid growing scrutiny of the sector's rapid expansion.

Levine specifically cited concerns regarding AI safety, corporate governance structures, and the overall pace of technological development as key reasons for the recommendation. The intervention highlights increasing regulatory and public interest oversight of major AI firms approaching public markets.

Governance and Safety Concerns

The Comptroller's statement emphasizes that Anthropic must address specific operational and ethical issues before proceeding with a listing. The focus on governance suggests a demand for stronger internal controls and transparency mechanisms typical of public companies.

Safety remains a central pillar of the critique, reflecting broader industry debates about the risks associated with advanced large language models. The pace concern points to potential vulnerabilities arising from rapid deployment without adequate safeguards.

A potential $100 billion Anthropic IPO could generate approximately $700 million in underwriting fees for Wall Street banks, reviving the broader IPO market and acting as a catalyst for financial-sector ETFs.

Macrae Sykes, portfolio manager of the Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF (NYSE: GABF), views the anticipated offering as a critical test of investor appetite for new listings. At an illustrative fee rate of 70 bps, the deal would add significant revenue to bank wallets. Sykes noted that healthy US growth, low unemployment, and solid credit trends support continued earnings gains for major banks.

Impact on investment banking revenues

The opportunity extends beyond fees from a single deal. A successful Anthropic listing could encourage other companies waiting to go public to resume their plans, supporting underwriting, trading, and related capital-markets activity. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) are particularly relevant due to their investment-banking businesses. Sykes highlighted that Goldman’s investment-banking pipeline remains robust despite transaction delays.

Recent results provide additional tailwinds for financial ETFs. Goldman Sachs reported a 52% year-over-year increase in equity trading revenue, while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) recorded a 49% gain. Equities financing revenue surged 96%. JPMorgan also guided for $107 billion in 2027 net interest income excluding markets, approximately $4 billion above then-current consensus estimates.

ETF exposure to financial sector recovery

Investors can access this theme through various financial-sector funds. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF) provides broad exposure to large US financial companies, while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSE: KBE) offers more direct banking industry exposure. The actively managed GABF provides another route, holding Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) at 4.22% as of September 10.

The key distinction is that an IPO boom directly benefits investment banks through underwriting and trading fees, while broader financial ETFs also hold companies whose earnings depend on lending, payments, and asset management.

Anthropic's financial context and valuation debate

Anthropic plans to present updated third-quarter financial figures to investors this week. The company generated nearly $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025 but recorded a $42 billion net loss, primarily driven by fair-value adjustments. Its operating loss widened to $8.06 billion. The company plans to spend roughly $518 billion in future cloud and infrastructure spending.

A $2 trillion valuation would make this offering larger than Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ: SPCX) $1.78 trillion debut. However, independent research firm New Constructs estimated Anthropic’s value at $150 billion, arguing it would need profits equal to twice Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA)’s trailing four-quarter total to support the higher valuation. Michael Burry noted that Anthropic’s valuation equals the combined value of 78 S&P 500 companies.

What the numbers show

The potential $700 million fee pool from a $100 billion Anthropic IPO represents a concentrated revenue event for top-tier banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, contrasting with the diffuse benefits of general market recovery. While Anthropic faces scrutiny over its $4.6 billion revenue against a $42 billion net loss, the IPO proceeds would flow primarily to underwriters rather than resolving the startup's operational burn. For financial ETF investors, the sustainability of any rally depends on whether the Anthropic listing successfully unlocks the broader IPO pipeline, converting one-off underwriting fees into lasting earnings growth across lending and asset management divisions.