Municipal CUSIP Request Volume Slows, Ending Six-Month Growth Streak

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for July 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 declines in CUSIP request volume across most major asset classes in July.

CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S.- and Canada-issued equity and debt, increased 3.8% in July. However, the month-to-month increase was driven by an increase in federal agency programs and medium-term notes. Domestic corporate equity request volume was down 8.2%, domestic corporate debt was down 26.7% and Canadian corporates were down 15.0% during the month. Excluding federal agencies, overall U.S. and Canadian corporate issuance was down 7.3% in July. On a year-to-date basis, total volume for North American corporates was down 3.6%.

Municipal CUSIP requests decreased for the first time in six months in July. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – saw a 15.9% decrease versus June 2019. On a year-to-date basis, municipal request volume was up 8.1% through July.

"The steady monthly increases in municipal bond CUSIP request volume have ebbed for the first time this year," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services. "With interest rates still holding at historic lows, we fully expect municipal issuance activity to maintain a healthy volume, but we will be watching this metric closely in the coming weeks and months."

Requests for new international debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) both declined in July. International equity CUSIP requests were down 13.4% from June to July 2019 and international debt CUSIP requests fell 15.2% in the month. Year-to-date international CUSIP request volume for all international securities was down 30.5% so far in 2019.

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 July 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

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