Tech spending is set to continue to rise among Asian financial institutions. That was the conclusion of the Misys Southern Asia Market Forum 2013, which bought together over 100 representatives from 40 of the region’s leading financial institutions.

The high growth technology spending of financial institutions in Asia, accessible banking platforms such as mobile and social channels and turning regulatory pressure to a bank’s advantage were among key discussions at the forum. Michael Yeo, market analyst, IDF Financial Insights Asia Pacific, commented that IT spending of financial institutions was up four per cent worldwide in 2012. In Asia Pacific, this figure was seven per cent, notably in the areas of core banking, risk management and CRM, and Yeo predicted it would increase to 8.8 per cent in 2013. The rise in high tech spending is evident in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

In 2013, there will be an uptake of forecasting and predictive modeling; as well as mobile channels, which in Asia are likely to be driven by wealth management firms, according to Yeo. In the next two years, regulatory compliance software is likely to account for a large part of financial institutions’ IT investment spending. Countries in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, are starting to converge on how they deal with regulatory demands. Due to the increasing number of compliance regulations and their growing complexity, enterprise risk management departments are now receiving funding more easily for their risk management software. It is becoming clear that financial institutions consider collaborative risk management solutions a key component of their risk technology environment.

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