CUSIP Requests Surge in May Signaling Growth in Corporate and Muni Bond Issuance

NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for May 2017. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, found a surge in the pre-trade market for corporate and municipal bonds in May. This increased demand for new CUSIP IDs for corporate and municipal bonds is suggestive of a possible uptick in new security issuance volume over the coming weeks.

CUSIP identifier requests for U.S. and Canadian corporate debt and equity offerings totaled 2,289 in May, a 12% increase from April 2017 totals. So far this year, demand for new CUSIPs for both corporate debt and equity offerings are up 34% over the same period in 2016, reflecting the strong pace of request volume observed during February, March, and May of this year.

Municipal bond requests also increased in May. A total of 1,413 muni identifier requests were made during the month, an increase of 32% over April. This made May the most active month so far in 2017 for new requests for municipal bond CUSIPs. Despite this growth, municipal bond request volume was down 25% through the end of May 2017 on a year-over-year basis, reflecting some volatility in municipal bond issuance volumes over the course of this year.

"A combination of macroeconomic and technical variables have driven a fair amount of volatility in month-to-month CUSIP request volume so far this year," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services. "Overall uncertainty about where the markets and interest rates are going, and preparations for pending regulatory reforms such as the Fiduciary Rule have all conspired to create a choppy trend in pre-trade activity."

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) volume was mixed in May.  International equity CINS increased 16% and international debt CINS decreased 1% during the month. On a year-over-year basis, international equity requests were down 9% and international debt requests were up 74%, reflecting continued volatility in international markets.

"In the big picture, we're seeing very healthy levels of CUSIP request volume, indicative of robust new issuance activity," said Richard Peterson, Senior Director, S&P Global Market Intelligence. "But the path we've been taking to get there has been bumpy with monthly surges in activity followed by slow-downs over the course of the year."

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 May 2017:

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 45 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

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