CUSIP ID Requests Forecast Sustained Strength for Corporate and International Debt Issuance, Slowdown in Munis

NEW YORK, March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for February 2011.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests strong, continued growth in US and international corporate debt issuance over the next 30-90 days, but declining issuance momentum in the US municipal bond market.

International debt CUSIP activity surged in February with a total of 120 requests, an increase of nearly 45% year-over-year while international equity CUSIP activity declined -7% over 2010 levels with 263 ID requests. Additionally, CUSIP requests for private placement notes totaled 186 in February, a decrease of nearly -5% from 2010.

In the US, domestic corporate CUSIP activity continued to rise nearly 32% over last year's figures with a total of 1573 requests made. Likewise, certificate of deposit (CD) identifier requests grew in February with 809 requests made for CDs with maturities greater than 1 year and 348 for those with maturities under 1 year.

Municipal CUSIP requests improved slightly from January levels, with 785 requests made in February.  However, this still marks a -25% decrease in activity when compared to 2010 year-over-year levels and the first instance of sub-1000 municipal requests for back-to-back months since December 2008-January 2009. With the inclusion of both long- and short-term notes and other municipal securities, overall municipal identifier request volume in February dropped nearly -24% from 2010 levels.

"We're continuing to see strong demand for corporate debt identifiers in the US and abroad, but municipal volumes are definitely showing a slowing trend," said Richard Peterson, Director, S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies.  "As many municipalities continue to face pressure from mounting budget shortfalls, the trend in muni volumes will be an important indicator to monitor over the coming weeks and months."

To view a video commentary of this month's CUSIP issuance trends with Richard Peterson, please click here.

Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through February 2011:

(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

The CUSIP Global Services trends report is issued to the marketplace on a monthly basis.   For more information, please visit www.cusip.com.  

About CUSIP Global Services

For 40 years CUSIP Global Services has provided a unique common language for identifying financial instruments across institutions, exchanges and nations, enabling financial services firms to benefit from improved operating efficiencies and substantially reduced administrative costs. CUSIP Global Services is operated by the CUSIP Service Bureau (CSB). CSB is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by Standard & Poor's. 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 Service (CGS)