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Amman and Dubai - A newly-released report by MENAFN Research ( www.menafn.com/research ) found that retail financial institutions in the GCC and Levant region will spend more on IT in 2003, despite the current economic gloom and the overall decline in IT expenditure across various industries worldwide.
Seventy percent of institutions surveyed said they would increase their IT budgets in 2003, with a third saying the percentage increase would be between 5 to 15 percent from a year earlier.
The findings are in line with worldwide trends where IT expenditure by financial institutions in Europe and the US are expected to rise.
MENAFN Research attributes the increase in IT budgets by regional institutions to several factors that include the important role technology plays in the financial services sector and the fact that many regional banks increasingly view IT as a competitive differentiator.
The benchmark survey also revealed that Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Islamic banking technology infrastructure, and business continuity and security were the top IT initiatives for banks in the region in 2003.
Released today, the survey looks at how senior management at the largest banks in the region tackle strategic issues such as IT governance, budgeting, spending priorities, outsourcing, and e-finance projects.
It provides financial institutions with the ability to guide their internal IT investment decisions, help plan for future technology needs, benchmark against competitors, and stay current on IT management issues relevant to the region.
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Editor’s note:
The Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Inc. (MENAFN) is the leading provider of online financial technology solutions and online / wireless financial content and tools to large institutions in the region. Clients include the National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank, Arab National Bank, Arab Bank PLC, Mashreqbank UAE, Citibank, American Express Middle East, and many others.
For more information, please visit www.menafn.com/research or contact MENAFN Research at research@menafn.com
MEDIA Contact:
MENAFN Research Team
research@menafn.com
Telephone: +962 6 5690450
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