#8: State Street Corp.

PAST GLOBE 100 RANKING 1997: 28 1996: 26 1995: 17 1994: 34 1993: 30 1992: 29 1991: 22 1990: 23 1989: 31

s a guardian of the asset management world's back-office operations, State Street at first glance might seem to be more of a paper-juggling Plain Jane than a sexy financial services company.

But the Boston-based bank holding company is attractive indeed. With a powerhouse business in processing securities and keeping records for mutual fund houses, investment firms, and pension managers around the globe, State Street keeps reaping gains.

The giant company, which watches over nearly $4 trillion in institutional assets and handles around $400 billion for its clients, has seen growth in all areas of its business, which includes domestic and international banking and corporate finance.

Its stock - up 27 percent through April after an 80 percent gain in 1997 - has benefited strongly from expansion and consolidation in the financial sector.

''We've spent 15 to 18 years focusing and refocusing our business in serving institutional investors,'' said president and chief operating officer David A. Spina. ''Over 20 years, our compound annual rate of growth is 28 percent.''

State Street's stock price has also gained from being listed last year on the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index of the largest companies - a barometer that has soared on the US market's record bull run. Many large index equity funds attempt to mimic the returns of the S&P 500 by buying its stocks.

Now seen as a financial services powerhouse in its own right, State Street is coveted by others. Last year, it rebuffed advances from Bank of New York, saying it was not for sale.

''All the company's areas of business have been doing well,'' said John W. Adams of Adams, Harkness & Hill. ''If they have six areas of business, they have six green lights right now.''

But he cautioned that such outsized growth could not sustain itself at its record pace.