Banks are taking steps to reduce the risks associated with increased reliance on external cloud computing service providers, according to a study conducted by Harris Poll and Google Cloud.

The British and French central banks are concerned that they lack clear insight into the reliance of commercial banks on a "concentrated" number of external cloud service providers, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, which are outside the jurisdiction of regulators.

Central banks fear that reliance by a large number of banks on the same companies could create systemic risk in the event that any of the software giants fail.

A survey involving 1,300 leaders of financial firms from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Australia revealed that 83 percent of them use the cloud as part of their primary computing infrastructure.

Most of them are also considering a strategy based on multiple clouds, as this would allow them to switch to an alternative service provider and maintain uninterrupted operations with clients in the event of a system failure.

"Based on Harris’s research, it is clear that financial institutions are taking measures to address the issue of concentration and the difficulty of changing service providers," said Adrian Poole, Director of Google Cloud for Financial Services in the U.K. and Ireland.

Currently, 88 percent of respondents do not have a strategy based on multiple clouds, but plan to adopt one in the next 12 months, adds Cole.