The Global Vendors of Core Banking Solutions: The Heat is On

These solutions promise greater success and speed-to-market for what is by far the most costly and risky project a bank can undertake. Celent Communications expects global spending on core banking systems will skyrocket to $80.2 billion by 2005. The greatest spending will be by European banks, because their IT departments, rather than business strategists, are making the final decisions. The greater need for system flexibility as a result of the creation of the European Union and use of the euro are also spurring spending on core banking systems in Europe. While North American banks have been hesitant to replace core banking systems thus far, more system replacements are expected in this region. Foreign solution providers are increasingly setting their sights on this market, which has been dominated until this point by US vendors.