<p>Information technology spends by financial institutions is expected to increase by 9.8 per cent to around Rs 50,000 crore in 2015, according to research firm Gartner.<br><br>"Indian banking and securities companies will spend Rs 499 billion (49,900 crore) on IT products and services in 2015, an increase of 9.8 per cent over 2014 spend of 455 billion rupees," it said in a note.<br><br>This includes spending by financial institutions on internal IT which includes in-house personnel, hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications, it added.<br><br>"Firms in the industry are investing to strengthen their operational infrastructure to support regulatory needs, as well as sustain increasing demands from the digital channels," its research director Rajesh Kandaswamy said.<br><br>He added that the upcoming entry of 11 payments banks and 10 small finance banks will also help bolster the spends on the information technology products and services.<br><br>On the broad areas for the investments, he said the banks will increase investments in digital solutions, modernise back-end systems and increase their reliability and speed.<br><br>(PTI)</p>
