Citigroup has taken a significant step toward embedding artificial intelligence deeper into its operational muscle with the launch of Arc, a platform engineered to deploy and scale autonomous AI agents across the institution. The initiative targets a fundamental inefficiency that has plagued investment banking and research operations for decades: the labor-intensive grunt work of data aggregation, analysis, and documentation that consumes thousands of hours annually across the firm. What makes Arc noteworthy is not simply that Citi is automating—competitors have been experimenting with AI for years—but rather the systematic ambition of the platform to standardize cognitive automation at enterprise scale. The stakes of this move extend beyond a single bank's operational efficiency. Arc signals a inflection point in how large financial institutions are approaching the integration of AI agents into client-facing and internal workflows.…