The analyst house finds that overall worldwide IT spending is growing with a 5.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) expected from 2010-2015. However, the study finds big regional differences in spending power, with the largest outlay expected to come from fast-growing Middle East and Bric economies.

Forecasts for Europe have declined slightly, due to growing concerns about the future of the eurozone. The CAGR for 2010-2015 now stands at 3.6%, compared with the four percent uplift that was expected at the start of the study period.

Estimates for North America are a full percentage point higher than in the earlier forecast at 3.7%, as US banks emerge from the financial crisis and Canadian banks continue their strategic investments.

The Asia Pacific spend-trend remains unchanged, showing a healthy seven percent growth, while Latin America and the Middle East move into double-digit territory, inflating the IT purse by a full ten percent.

Jeanne Capachin, vice president, IDC Financial Insights, says: "The global economy will continue to flounder in 2012 as the crisis in Western Europe casts a long shadow. As a result, many banks are taking a closer look at their expense budgets as they consider new IT investments. However, there are bright spots as the Middle East remains a strong growth market for financial services technology and the adoption of public cloud services among US banks has surfaced as a way to innovate despite tight IT spending controls."