Rashad Najafli, Deputy Director of the Economic Analysis Department of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), participated in the international conference on “New Challenges in Maintaining Financial Stability and Managing Financial Crises in the World of Digital Finance and Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Central Banks” held in Vienna, Austria.

The conference was co-organized by the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB), the European Monetary and Financial Forum (SUERF), the Vienna Joint Institute, and the Yale University Financial Stability Program.

The conference, dedicated to the current challenges of the modern financial system, brought together high-level representatives of the world's leading central banks, international financial institutions, and academic circles. The main focus of the discussions was on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital finance on the banking sector and financial stability. Experts emphasized that AI creates broad opportunities for risk management, more agile data analysis, and improved control mechanisms, but at the same time can create new systemic risks such as algorithmic decision-making, behavioral identification, and the acceleration of digital banking flows.

The conference was opened by Thomas Steiner, Member of the Board of the Austrian Central Bank. This was followed by Klaas Knot, Former President of the Netherlands Central Bank and Former Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), with a presentation on the systemic risks posed by non-bank financial intermediation and its possible impact on global financial stability.

The event was attended by executives and senior representatives of prestigious institutions such as the European Central Bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Stability Mechanism, the Bank of England, the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), the European Banking Authority, Yale University, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Raiffeisen Bank International and Erste Bank.