CUSIP Request Volume Trends Downward in December, Forecasts Continued Volatility in Corporate and Municipal Bond Issuance

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for December 2015.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests continued volatility in new corporate and municipal bond issuance over the next several weeks.

Total CUSIP requests for new U.S. and Canadian corporate equity ended the year on a down note, with a total of 1,570 new identifiers requested over the course of the month of December, a 17.7% decrease from November totals. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP request volume was down 8.6% for calendar year 2015.

The volume of requests for new municipal CUSIP identifiers also saw monthly declines in December.  A total of 1,037 new municipal bond identifier requests were made over the course of the month, a 9.6% decrease from November.  On a year-over-year basis, municipal bond identifier requests were up 16.1% in 2015, reflecting particularly strong issuance volume ahead of the Federal Reserve's December interest rate increase.

Regionally, municipal bond issuers in Texas demanded the highest volume of new CUSIP identifiers in December, accounting for a total of 139 identifier requests during the month.

"While seasonality certainly plays a role in the December totals for corporate and municipal issuance, the CUSIP request volumes for the year 2015 paint a picture of a marketplace that's been closely monitoring interest rates for signs of change," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services.  "It will be instructive to see how issuance levels start to shape up in early 2016 and whether that level of volatility will persist."

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) were split in December. Requests for new international debt CINS were down 13.3%, while requests for new equity CINS increased 11%.  On a year-over-year basis international debt CINS were up 3.2% and international equity CINS were down 11.4% through December 2015. 

"A great deal of the activity in corporate and municipal bond issuance over the course of 2015 was defined by speculation around interest rates," said Richard Peterson, Senior Director, S&P Capital IQ.  "It is fitting, then, given the December move by the Fed that we're now seeing a slow-down to the fever pitch of bond issuance we saw earlier in the year. Expect that trend to continue throughout the first part of this 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 December 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 "U.S. & Canada Corporates" totals reflect requests for both equity and debt identifiers
³  "International" Equity refers to market requests for CUSIP International Numbers ("CINS") for non-U.S. equity offerings

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services

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