Billion-dollar business trade has become too big for the back office Global custody is big business - and it is getting bigger all the time. It may lack glamour, but it is pushing relentlessly into new areas ...read STP Straight-through processing - trades that never touch the sides Without a big improvement in processing trades there are fears that the industry will not cope with rising volumes of transactions Europe Where the ticking of the pensions time bomb is at its loudest The trends that make custody such a compelling business on a global scale are at their most striking in Europe Citigroup Feeding a far-flung family in 52 foreign markets The largest US financial services company may be the most global banking company in the world, with a product breadth and geographic reach that knows no rival. Perfectly formed Small fry thrive and survive by doing what they do well While the custodians have got bigger in the last 18 months, niche operators continue to top the industry's league tables for high quality of service and, as a result, are winning significant levels of business