CUSIP Request Volume for Corporates and Municipals Increases

NEW YORK, March 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for February 2019. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity over the next quarter, found a noteworthy increase in requests for new corporate and municipal debt identifiers, while requests for international security identifiers declined in February.  

CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S.- and Canada-issued equity and debt, increased 2.5% between January and February. The growth was driven by a 6.7% increase in requests for U.S. corporate debt identifiers and a 57.8% increase in request for Canadian security identifiers. On a year-over-year basis, total volume for North American corporates was down 5.3%, reflecting slow issuance volume in January. 

Municipal CUSIP requests also increased in February. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – saw a 16.7% increase versus January 2019 and a 19.1% increase on a year-over-year basis.

"It should come as little surprise that issuers of corporate and municipal debt are continuing to seize the opportunity presented by the current low interest rate environment to raise new capital," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services. "While volumes have been relatively strong so far this year, we do expect continued volatility as interest rates start to rise and geopolitical uncertainty persists."

Requests for new international debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) were mixed in February. International equity CINS were down 44.4% versus the previous month, while international debt CINS increased 3.4% during the same period.

To view a copy of the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report, please click here.

Following is a breakdown of New CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date, through February 2019:

About CUSIP Global Services

The financial services industry relies on CGS' unrivaled experience in uniquely identifying instruments and entities to support efficient global capital markets. Its extensive focus on standardization over the past 50 years has helped CGS earn its reputation as a trusted originator of quality identifiers and descriptive data, ensuring that essential front- and back-office functions run smoothly. Relied upon worldwide as the industry standard provider of reliable, timely reference data, CGS is also a founding member and co-operates the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) Service Bureau, a global security and entity identifier database for over 34 million public and privately traded instruments, contributed by 92 national numbering agencies and 27 partner agencies representing 255 different countries. CGS is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) by S&P Global Market Intelligence, with a Board of Trustees that represents the voices of leading financial institutions. For more information, visit www.cusip.com.

About The American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation's $13 trillion banking industry and its 2 million employees.  Learn more at www.aba.com.

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services