Global Bank IT Spending to Reach $179.2 Bln in 2013: Celent

The research firm said in a new study that it expects IT spending by banks to grow this year led by banks in North America and the Asia-Pacific.

Celent, a research and advisory firm in financial services, released its global banking IT spending predictions for 2013 in a new report released today. The firm expects banking IT spending in the three major regions of North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific to rise by 3.4% from last year to a total of $179.2 billion.

The report, titled "IT Spending in Banking: A Global Perspective," compares trends across the three regions and found most of the growth this year will come from the Asia-Pacific arena. Banking IT spending in this region will grow by 5.9% to $62.3 billion, the report forecasts. Further into the future the spending in the Asia-Pacific region will reach $66.5 billion in 2014, according to the report.

U.Ss and Canadian banks are also expected to spend more, the report predicts, by 4% in 2013 to $56.9 billion. In 2014 the authors of the report foresees further growth of 4.4% to $59.4 billion.

European banks are dragging in IT spending compared to the other regions with "little to no growth" expected, the report said. Banking IT spending will rise by .4% in 2013 to $59.5 billion, with spending expected to stay flat through 2015.

"The good new is that momentum is consistent and positive. When examining the sum of the three regions, IT spending is expected to grow by 3.6% in 2014 and 3.4% in 2015," Jacob Jegher, a senior analyst at Celent and one of the report's authors, said in the study.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio