In the latest forecast of IT spending, Datamonitor predicts that global banking technology market will decline by almost 2 percent in 2009, with the greatest cuts coming in the European and North American markets. The UK will be the hardest hit, with a 7 percent decline. Another way to look at it: Through 2012, about $40 billion of IT spending will have been foregone. And yet technology investment is still seen as critical.

We just might see a rise in the ratio of IT cost to overall operating cost base. The absolute technology spend will decline, but "the need to obtain synergies from recent mergers and drive lower costs/higher productivity elsewhere will protect budgets to some degree." Most think risk and compliance-oriented projects are the least likely to be cut. Also, branch spending will remain strong as banks look to technology to reduce overall costs and boost services. 

For more:
- here's the release [1]

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