Can it get any worse? That's a fair question when it comes to IT spending in the banking sector. The fact is that most banks were forced to ration their IT spending dollars in 2009. Celent predicts 2010 North American IT spending by banks will hit $50.9 billion by banks, up $600 million from 2009. So we're talking about similar levels.

The environment for new projects will remain tough. New bank IT investments--not maintenance--will rise to $11.1 billion, compared with $10.5 billion in 2009 and $11.8 billion in 2008. Bank Technology News spoke with a few execs at the big banks that suggest there will be a few areas of hot growth. While compliance and risk management were the big buzzwords a year ago, now most of the spending seems to be focused on corporate banking and transaction-oriented banking. 

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