This chapter provides an overview of financial integration and regulation. It discusses the main issues at stake in the political economy of financial integration and regulation in Europe. Due to the recurrence of financial crises, the globalization of finance, the multi-level governance of financial services, and the large size and far-reaching influence of the financial sector, financial integration and regulation hold particular significance in the European political economy. Over time, financial integration increased in the European Union, which has harmonized regulations on a variety of financial services across Member States. The financial integration and regulation in Europe face several ongoing and future challenges, such as the incompleteness of the Banking Union and its asymmetric functioning.
