In January 2007, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) affirmed their commitment to the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 and “to transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor, and freer flow of capital.” To move the work program forward toward AEC 2015, the ASEAN central bank governors agreed to conduct a study to assess if ASEAN financial integration is on track and to recommend any further initiatives needed to achieve financial integration by 2015. In the same manner, the ASEAN finance ministers endorsed a study that comprehensively maps the current financial conditions in ASEAN and that makes relevant recommendations on the next steps needed to achieve integrated financial markets in ASEAN by 2015.

Recognizing the similarities of the scope as well as the possible overlaps and duplication of outputs, the two studies were combined into a Combined Study on Assessing the Financial Landscape and Formulating Milestones for Monetary and Financial Integration in ASEAN (Combined Study). The Combined Study aimed to critically and comprehensively assess financial sector regimes and the policy landscape in ASEAN, recommend a detailed financial integration milestones blueprint that shall lay out a comprehensive program to achieve ASEAN financial integration by 2015, and recommend institutional and policy reforms to be implemented in 2011–2020.