Improving STP rates and examing the potential of outsourcing solutions are two of the main concerns being exhibted by corporate clients, according to Fundtech, a leading provider of financial technology software and services. The survey concludes:
All of the respondents (100%) said that their corporate clients are aware of the STP (straight through processing) rate between their back office and the bank and that 54% of them are actively working to improve this rate.
Over half of the respondents said their institution is more interested in outsourcing this year than last year, but only 13% felt the potential for outsourcing had decreased. As an example of this, of those banks that will invest in Target2 systems in 2005, 60% said they would outsource by either purchasing software or connecting with an application service provider (ASP).
Over two-thirds said that their IT budgets would grow in 2005. While 13% of banks are planning to increase their technology budget by more than 10%, 56% of executives surveyed said their bank plans to increase its technology budget by 0-10%. This is in line with TowerGroup's recent predictions of a 4.4% rise in technology spending in 2005 by the banking industry.