Financial institutions face rising IT budgets as they balance innovation, legacy and regulation: Celent

Financial institutions are entering 2026 with competing technology priorities, from scaling artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and strengthening data governance to modernising legacy systems and managing rising regulatory demands. Celent’s research, based on its comprehensive IT Dimensions survey of more than 1,000 executives at financial institutions, reveals that IT budgets are expected to rise by an average of 7% in 2026 with significant variation across the financial services industry. As a resu ...