News about financial stability

The two-day RBI SAMVAD 2026 seminar in New Delhi (October 19–20) highlighted concerns over financial stability from geopolitical tensions, growing AI use and risks from non-bank financial institutions. Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said financial stability has become a policy objective in its own right, with the focus shifting from individual institutions to the whole system, including non-bank entities, and participants warned that crises are now coming quicker and are more intense. Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das cautioned that prolonged conflicts and fragmentation are tightening financial conditions and raising sovereign debt stress, and that untested AI valuations and profit uncertainty could increase vulnerabilities. Other speakers stressed India's macroeconomic stability, common cross-border payment standards, and moving financial inclusion from access toward effective usage.

At the RBI's two-day SAMVAD 2026 seminar in New Delhi, held October 19 and 20, policymakers and experts warned that geopolitical tensions, rising use of AI and risks from non-bank financial institutions are raising concerns for global financial stability. RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said financial stability has become a policy objective in its own right, with focus shifting from individual institutions to the wider system, including non-bank entities, and participants noted that crises are arriving faster and with greater intensity. Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das cautioned that untested AI valuations and uncertain profitability could increase vulnerabilities, while prolonged conflicts and global fragmentation are tightening financial conditions and raising sovereign debt stress. Discussions also covered climate risks, fintech, AI agents and cross-border payments, with calls for common standards, stronger safeguards against financial crime and better access to domestic payment solutions. Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said India faces the challenging global environment from a position of macroeconomic stability, supported by a credible fiscal path

The IMF warned in its October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report that AI financing carries a structural risk that could simultaneously erode equity values, debt serviceability and revenue expectations, a "triple whammy" the markets have no adequate buffer to absorb. Its analysis of 14 major AI deals found hyperscalers had channeled roughly $300 billion in equity and $650 billion in debt into AI companies, while those companies committed $1.4 trillion in future revenues back to the hyperscalers. The IMF likened this circular structure to the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis and flagged record global exposure to U.S. AI assets. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley argue bubble fears remain premature, and JPMorgan says AI does not yet meet the classic criteria for a bubble.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) sent a letter to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors warning that cross-border stablecoin oversight and crisis management remain immature, and flagging AI-driven cyber threats to critical financial institutions. In its 2025 review, 11 of 28 surveyed jurisdictions had finalized stablecoin regulatory frameworks. The accompanying report warns that stablecoin runs could spill into traditional markets through forced sales of reserve assets and bank deposit withdrawals, with multi-issuer stablecoins particularly exposed when reserves sit in different jurisdictions. The FSB has also finalized 12 practices for responsible AI adoption covering governance, development, cybersecurity and third-party risks, and urged G20 members to support them. FSB Chair Andrew Bailey said AI requires close attention and careful management by financial institutions.