Corporate Banking IT spending in North America continues to grow strongly. Persistently high interest rates have proved challenging for corporate banking clients, and the product priorities of banks reflect this. For technology investments, 2025 will be the year of AI (perhaps the first of several). However, banks must also invest in data platforms and management to support ambitious AI plans.
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Bank IT spending continues to accelerate in North America, albeit with some distinct variations. Celent’s latest Dimensions IT spending data shows that IT spending for corporate banking rose an average of 5.6% in 2025 and is expected to increase by a further 6.1% in 2026—just above the global average. In a turnabout, for the first time in several years, banks in Canada will see larger budget increases than their US counterparts in 2025, although this will revert back to the traditional pattern in 2026.
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The top three drivers for IT spend in the region are improving IT security and operational resilience, product proposition innovation or enhancement, and achieving greater speed and agility. Although the latter slipped a little from 2024, speed and agility will benefit the whole bank.
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Despite the increasing overall budgets, IT budget constraints, limitations of existing technology, and pressure to focus on mandatory/compliance changes were the most often ranked as the top barriers to executing on growth initiatives. Clearly, agility is still aspirational for many banks.
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Technology priorities appear to have been influenced heavily by the rapid rise of AI. The quest for “AI at scale” has driven 55% of banks to rank AI as a top priority, far exceeding the second place (digital identity management) ranked by 37% of banks.
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In terms of business and product priorities, there is a clear leader. Corporate digital banking platforms was the top overall priority in North America, and by a wide margin, with 54% of banks ranking this a top priority. Whatever the product or service, the banking experience matters to clients.
