FinTech Webinar | AI, Geopolitical Fragmentation, and Financial Stability: Systemic Risk and Financial Market Valuation
the chair
3rd FinTech Webinar
AI, Geopolitical Fragmentation, and Financial Stability: Systemic Risk and Financial Market Valuation
The convergence of the increasing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and the deepening geopolitical fragmentation has emerged as a primary concern for international financial regulators. As detailed in the October 2026 IMF Global Financial Stability Report, these two paradigm shifts are interacting aggressively to create new channels of systemic risk and fundamentally disrupt financial market valuations. This Report identified three potential channels through which systemic risk can be transmitted to global markets and economic segments (firms and industries, for example): an AI-driven market correction, a steep rise in sovereign bond yields, and cyberattacks. By contrast, broad AI optimism has acted as an economic cushion, sustaining accommodative financial conditions despite ongoing economic (i.e., tariffs) and military wars in several parts of the planet. This leaves equity markets uniquely vulnerable to severe tail risks. Consequently, other international regulatory bodies such as the UK’s Financial Stability Board and the European Systemic Risk Board have advocated comprehensive framework audits, intensive third-party risk management, regional safety nets, and precautionary and liquidity lines, among other things.
It is a great pleasure to have three distinguished colleagues of mine—Prof. Palaios, Prof. Leventis and Prof. Volis—participating in this webinar to talk about the above topic and link their discussion to their current research. I also welcome the audience, which consists of colleagues—from our institution and outside of it, namely from the Bank of International Settlements (Dr. Eleftheria Kostika), and students to this webinar.
My hope is to culminate this discussion into a proposal for a Special Issue for the FinTech journal.
Date: 24 November 2026
Time: 12:00 PM (CEST) | 7:00 PM (CST Asia)
Webinar ID: 865 3917 9725
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet Our Chair
School of Business and Economics, The American College of Greece, Greece;Nikiforos T. Laopodis is a Professor of Finance at the School of Economics and Business’ Finance Department. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from The Catholic University of America, DC, USA, in 1991, a Master’s degree from Morgan State University, MD, USA, in 1986, and a B.A. from the University of Macedonia, Greece, in 1983. His areas of expertise are investments and financial econometrics. His research includes monetary and fiscal policies, capital markets, and geopolitical risks. He has written three textbooks: Understanding Investments: Theories and Strategies, 2nd edition (2020), Financial Economics and Econometrics, 1st edition (2022), and Global Financial Markets (1st edition 2026). His research has appeared in journals such as the Journal of International Money and Finance, the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, the Journal of Financial Stability, Oxford Economic Papers and more. He has taught a number of finance and economics courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels in both the USA and Greece.
Meet Our Speakers
School of Economics and Business, The American College of Greece, Greece;Panagiotis Palaios is an Associate Professor of Economics and Economics Program Coordinator at Deree—The American College of Greece . He has previously taught at the National School of Public Administration and Harokopio University of Athens. His teaching experience includes economics of conflict and security, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and maritime economics. His research focuses on the political economy of security, with particular emphasis on the economics of conflict, alliance cohesion, public choice, and the political economy of defense. A secondary stream explores maritime economics. His work has been published in journals such as Defence and Peace Economics, Economics and Politics, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, Journal of Geoeconomics, Empirical Economics, Transport Policy and Maritime Policy and Management. He has presented his research at international conferences including EFMA, NATO OR&A, and the International Conference on Empirical Economics, and serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs (SAGE). In addition to his academic work, Panagiotis served as a Financial and Supply Officer in the Hellenic Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and held various key positions including Head Economic Advisor to the Deputy Minister of National Defense (2019–2022). During his military career, he led major projects in defense procurement, logistics, and budgeting, such as the development of Integrated Logistics Support requirements for the MEKO-200HN frigate modernization program and the implementation of OECD and IMF best practices for defense budgeting. He was twice awarded moral commendations for excellence in service by the Chief of the Hellenic Armed Forces and the Deputy Minister of National Defense.
School of Economics and Business, The American College of Greece, Greece;Dr. Leventis joined the Department of Economics at Deree College in 2016. Before that, she taught at Baruch and Hunter Colleges of the City University of New York, and worked as a quantitative analyst at IBM in New York. She earned her PhD in Economics from City University of New York, with research focusing on the European sovereign debt crisis and Greece. At Deree, she has taught courses across disciplines and departments in the areas of economic theory, econometrics, financial economics and mathematical economics. Her current teaching involves such courses as Mathematical Economics, Applied Statistics, and Money & Banking. Her research focuses on macroeconomics and monetary policy, with emphasis on macro-financial linkages, systemic risk in financial markets, and the intersection of environmental, geopolitical, and financial risks. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Economic Asymmetries, the International Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics. Dr. Leventis has also served as a referee and program committee member for international academic journals and conferences, such as Studies in Microeconomics and the EFMA.
School of Ecnomics and Business, The American College of Greece, Greece;Ptychion, MSc, Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business; MSc, International Securities, Investment and Banking, ICMA Centre, University of Reading, PhD, Finance, Athens University of Economics and Business Dr. Volis has been a member of the Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance since January 2021. He has taught courses in several areas of finance, such as Financial Management, Capital and Money Markets, Investments, Portfolio Management, Derivatives Securities, and Financial Econometrics. When it comes to teaching, he is currently mainly focused on courses such as Investments and Portfolio Management. Dr. Volis’ research interests include Market Efficiency, Portfolio Diversification, beta and alpha analysis in the context of the CAPM framework, as well as corporate financing. He has served as an Investment Consultant and Project Manager in various companies, while holding managing positions at a brokerage company and a listed holding company abroad.
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| Speaker/Presentation | Time (CET) | Time (CST Asia) |
| Prof. Dr. Nikiforos T. Laopodis Webinar Opening |
12:00–12:07 | 19:00–19:07 |
| Dr. Panagiotis Palaios Rethinking the Tyranny of Distance in Information Warfare: Strategic Depth and Power Projection |
12:07–12:20 | 19:07–19:20 |
| Dr. Flora Leventis Artificial Intelligence and Systemic Cyber Risk in Financial Markets—Implications for Policy |
12:20–12:35 | 19:20–19:35 |
| Dr. Argirios Volis Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Valuation Practices Under Geopolitical Risk |
12:35–12:50 | 19:35–19:50 |
| Q&A Session | 12:50-13:00 | 19:50-20:00 |
| Prof. Dr. Nikiforos T. Laopodis Closing of Webinar |
13:00 –13:05 | 20:00 –20:05 |
