New research from research and consulting firm Ovum reveals that North American commercial banks are continuing to increase their investment in IT. The firm predicts commercial bank IT spending will growing to $17.1 billion per year by 2021, as they invest in real-time payment technology. The report is based on responses from more than 7,000 CIOs and other senior IT decision makers. The study shows that although they are implementing RTP infrastructures later than global peers, US and Canadian institutions are looking beyond the basic implementation of new payment rails. Instead, banks are also investing in services such as artificial intelligence and mobile banking based on real-time account data, recognizing that RTP is an important strategic opportunity ahead of open banking. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority decided not to publish a controversial report into the Royal Bank of Scotland for fear it could be sued as a result, reports the FT. Despite pressure from politicians and public, the FCA heeded legal advice that publication of the independent review by consultancy Promontory into RBS's Global Restructuring Group would expose it to "an unacceptable risk of successful legal action by current/former RBS managers for unfair treatment". Many small-business customers of GRG, which is now defunct, claimed they were pushed to the brink of collapse and restructured for profit after the financial crisis. The FCA has an ongoing enforcement investigation into GRG, which is also the subject of a police inquiry.