CUSIP Request Volume Shows Fifth Consecutive Monthly Decline Among Corporate and Municipal Bond Issuers

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for September 2015.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests a continued slow-down in new corporate and municipal bond issuance over the next several weeks.

The volume of requests for new municipal CUSIP identifiers declined for the fifth straight month, decreasing 11% in September, with a total of 926 new identifier requests made over the course of the month.  This followed a 16% decline in August, a 19% decline in July, a 1% decline in June and a 3% decline in May.  On a year-over-year basis, municipal bond identifier requests are still up 28% through September, reflecting a surge in activity during the first half of the year.

Regionally, municipal bond issuers in New York demanded the highest volume of new CUSIP identifiers in August, accounting for 13% of all municipal bond activity during the month.

Total CUSIP requests for new U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt decreased 6% in September, with a total of 1,702 new identifiers requested over the course of the month. This represented the slowest single month of CUSIP request activity for corporate securities since February 2015. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP request volume was down 7%.

"The consistency of the downward trend in new ID requests across key asset classes is a clear signal that market participants are concerned about future interest rate moves," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services.  "Issuers are clearly still out there, but there is definitely a wait-and-see mentality taking root, based on what we're seeing in new CUSIP request volume."

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) showed mixed results in September. Requests for new international debt CINS were up 5%, while requests for new equity CINS decreased 16%. 

"The phrase 'don't fight the Fed' has become something of a mantra on Wall Street over the last several years and corporate and municipal debt issuers are clearly heading that advice right now," said Richard Peterson, Senior Director of Global Markets Intelligence, S&P Capital IQ. "While CUSIP request volume has made it clear that there will be declines in new debt issuance in the coming weeks and months, we're anxious to see whether that trend will continue once the first rate hike takes place."

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 September 2015:

About CUSIP Global Services

The financial services industry relies on our unrivaled experience in uniquely identifying instruments and entities to support efficient global capital markets. Our extensive focus on standardization over the past 45 years has helped us earn the reputation for being the 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 25 million publicly trade instruments, contributed by 89 national numbering agencies and 27 partner agencies representing 123 different countries. CGS is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) by S&P Capital IQ, 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.

¹ "International" Debt refers to market requests for CUSIP International Numbers ("CINS") for non-U.S. debt offerings
²  "International" Equity refers to market requests for CUSIP International Numbers ("CINS") for non-U.S. equity offerings
³ "U.S. & Canada Corporates" totals reflect requests for both equity and debt identifiers

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services

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