Financial Services Integration in East Asia: Lessons from the European Union

This paper distills some policy lessons from the financial services integration program in the European Union for East Asia. Focusing on the improved cross-border facilitation of financial flows rather than on general macroeconomic factors related to optimal currency area formation, the paper discusses some specific features of the EU’s financial sector liberalization program and the results achieved so far. Considering the institutional difference between EU and East Asia, it discusses what possible features of the EU experience will be replicable in the region.