IDC Financial has upped its forecasts for global bank IT spending through to 2015 with only European banks expected to tighten the purse strings as economic woes mount.
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."