Software sales in most areas of the world experienced a slowdown during 2002, with the dips most pronounced in major financial centres such as Frankfurt and New York. Sales for wholesale banking recorded a marked downturn, although several suppliers performed particularly well, including Calypso which recorded seven new customers, most of which were among the top 20 banks on either side of the Atlantic. Summit also had some success, with five wins to its name.

Private banking was also badly affected, and even the deals won by the out-and-out specialists in this sector - ERI Bancaire, Avaloq and Sungard with Apsys III - were typically from smaller banks (no multi-site orders from the bigger players) and were mainly in Switzerland. On the other hand, ERI did manage to sell outside its traditional markets, and made progress within some larger banks, with deals from ABN Amro in Singapore and its French subsidiary, NSMD, and UBS in Bahrain, among others.

On the retail banking side, most wins went to retail-specific suppliers such as Fiserv, Infosys and London Bridge. Misys retail offerings, Equation and Bankmaster, also weathered the storm reasonably well. For the most part, it was banks in developing markets who were investing in retail banking systems during 2002, although things slowed slightly in Africa and the Indian subcontinent after a big rush of orders in 2001.

I-flex topped the sales league table for the first time. This Indian supplier secured 36 new takers during 2002, putting it just ahead of Temenos, which won a total of 32. The gulf between these frontrunners and the rest became even more pronounced: third place went to Sungard, with 19 new contracts for its Quantum solution. Of the 68 suppliers listed, less than 50 per cent achieved four or more wins.