Mid-tier financial institutions will be leading the way intechnology spending over the next couple years, according to awell-known think firm.

IDC Financial Insights expects North American financialinstitution technology spending to increase to $57 billion thisyear and continue a growth rate of about 3.1% a year through2015.

Federal budget issues and unforeseen economic difficulties couldrein back technology spending, of course, said Jeanne Capachin,research vice president for IDC Financial Insights in Framingham,Mass.

“Financial institutions have long 'wish lists' of technologyprojects, but they continue to be constrained by tight revenues andthe need to ensure all compliance and security issues areaddressed,” Capachin added in a report titled “2013 Bankers asBuyers” by William Mills Agency in Atlanta.

Economic and revenue declines could put some technologyinvestments on hold, the report said, but compliance and securityinvestments would likely remain untouched.

The report broke institutions down into four categories by sizeand said those in the second tier – $1 billion to $10 billion inassets – would show the highest growth rate in IT spend: 5.64% thisyear up to 6.48% in 2015.

Institutions of $100 million or less would spend about $767million this year on IT, compared with $5.2 billion total for thosebetween $100 million and $1 billion in assets; $10.6 billion forthose of $1billion to $10 billion in assets, and $40.5 billion forthose larger than $10 billion, IDC Financial Insights said.