Richard De Lotto, principle research analyst at the firm, explained that businesses in the industry only see IT as a "cost-cutting" tool, rather than looking at longer term benefits that new applications can offer.
He claimed that such financial institutions must look beyond the current economic climate and towards the "eventual recovery", when it will need up to date systems in order to compete with their rivals.
Mr De Lotto said: "Pressure from governments, regulators and consumers is making some banks risk-averse and creating a culture of introversion and inflexibility."
In his view, it is smart to be risk aware when investing in IT systems, but it is also advisable to be "innovative and bold".
Last month, Gartner posted figures regarding revenue in the semiconductor industry, which showed that the top three vendors for 2009 remain the same as in 2008, with Intel, Samsung and Toshiba leading the pack.
