Regulatory regionalism and the limits of ASEAN banking integration: The case of Indonesia.

This article examines the limited progress of banking integration within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), focusing on the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) and Indonesia's role as a case study. It argues that ASEAN banking integration is shaped by domestic socio-political struggles, where policy coordination relies on bilateral agreements and standardisation through the Qualified ASEAN Bank (QAB) status remains vague and non-binding, reflecting member states' efforts to protect national interests. In Indonesia, political considerations and fragmented state–society relations influence banking expansion, with state-owned banks facing regulatory constraints and private banks prioritizing domestic markets over regional growth. The study highlights how regulatory regionalism explains ASEAN's cautious approach to integration, balancing sovereignty concerns with limited cross-border cooperation, and suggests that domestic political economy dynamics are crucial to understanding regional financial integration outside highly institutionalised contexts like Europe.