Demand for collateral is rising, as are predictions of shortages. They may be imprecise, but they suit custodians pushing collateral aggregation, transformation and optimisation services on to bankers, brokers, fund managers, investors and even corporate treasurers bewildered by the collateral appetites of counterparties and central counterparty clearing houses.

The seam custodians have identified looks lucrative. If even a sliver of the balance sheet savings available to clients that put each piece of collateral to its optimal use comes to pass, the revenue will dwarf anything custodians currently collect in safekeeping fees.