Financial institutions see compliance as the primary concern of 2004 and expect a leap in technology systems spending, according to a survey from Sun Microsystems, the hardware and software provider. Most, however, said it would distract them from their core business.

Martin Brown, UK head of finance at Sun Microsystems, said: "The year 2004 will be a defining one for regulation in the financing services industry. Firms are having to look at their entire network architecture to meet these regulations.