As economic and regulatory pressures drive financial institutions to seek efficiency gains by improving the quality of their trading processes and systems, firms are devoting increasing amounts of capital to maintaining their competitive edge. Straight-Through Processing (STP), which automates every step in the trading system, is the most effective way for firms to remain competitive. According to the Securities Industry Association, the US securities industry will spend $8 billion to implement STP initiatives, and 99% percent of this investment will be made in systems internal to the firm. Straight-Through Processing for Financial Services: The Complete Guide provides the knowledge and tools required by operations managers and systems architects to develop and implement STP processing systems that streamline business processes to maintain competitiveness in the market.