HIGHLIGHTS

Portuguese banking industry IT cost survey

Findings of the IT spending, between 2008 and 2013, of the Portuguese banking industry, compared with the Iberian marketplace. The report includes also a study of the digital journey of the Portuguese banking sector.

Overview

This report provides to financial services executives an important insight of the IT spending of the Portuguese banking market, and how these costs evolved from 2008 to 2013. Due to market similarities, the outcomes have been compared to those of the Spanish market. The findings of this document helps to gather a better understanding on a proper management of the IT cost structure, and what changes are needed to align the IT spending to the business.

KEY FINDINGS

The study suggests that the observed reduction of economic results and margins of the banking sector triggered a number of business decisions with impact on IT investments and operations. The report also illustrates the trend of increasing IT infrastructure outsourcing and increase of application maintenance costs, due to regulatory and compliance. It also shows the contribution of IT to support the increment of digital channels and the impact on IT transactions volumes.

The second part of the document include a study on how the Portuguese banks position themselves today and in future in regards to the “digital journey”. This gives a good understanding on todays investment focus and what are the priorities for the future. There’s a clear trend of Portuguese banks’ plans to increase IT investments, in order to evolve to a “digital organization”, which includes the need to provide tools to better serve their customers and adapt to their needs.