Corporate Equity and Debt Issuance Up 16%, Municipal Volumes Up 20% in March
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NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for March 2021. 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 a significant monthly increase in request volume for new corporate and municipal identifiers.
CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt rose 15.5% in March from last month. The monthly increase was driven largely by U.S. corporate equity identifier requests, which increased by 22.7%. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP requests were down 18.7%, reflecting a significant year-over-year decline in January of 2021.
Monthly municipal volume also increased in March. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – rose 19.5% versus February totals. On an annualized basis, municipal CUSIP identifier request volumes were up 10.0% through March. California led state-level municipal request volume with a total of 128 new CUSIP requests in March, followed by New York with 109 and Texas with 104.
“CUSIP request volumes have been climbing alongside interest rates for the last two months,” said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. “While we expect to see continued volatility in these numbers over the course of the year, it appears issuers are still taking advantage of the current low rate environment to secure financing now.”
Requests for international equity and debt CUSIPs both increased in March. International equity CUSIP requests were up 53.2% versus February. International debt CUSIPs increased by 20.3% on a monthly basis.
To view the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report for March, click here.
Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through March 2021:
| Asset Class | 2021 YTD | 2020 YTD | YOY Change |
| International Equity | 860 | 262 | 228.2% |
| International Debt | 1,370 | 892 | 53.6% |
| Long-Term Municipal Notes | 102 | 67 | 52.2% |
| Canada Corporate Debt & Equity | 1,301 | 1,023 | 27.2% |
| U.S. Corporate Equity | 3,522 | 2,805 | 25.6% |
| Private Placement Securities | 927 | 751 | 23.4% |
| Municipal Bonds | 2,948 | 2,618 | 12.6% |
| Syndicated Loans | 657 | 612 | 7.4% |
| U.S. Corporate Debt | 3,394 | 3,565 | -4.8% |
| Short-Term Municipal Notes | 176 | 203 | -13.3% |
| CDs > 1-year Maturity | 936 | 1,994 | -53.1% |
| CDs < 1-year Maturity | 334 | 1,715 | -80.5% |
CUSIP Issuance Trends – March 2021
CUSIP request volume surged again in March, marking a second straight significant monthly increases in corporate and municipal activity.
North American corporate requests totaled 5,443 in March 2021, up by 15.5% versus February volume. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP requests were down 18.7%, reflecting a significant year-over-year decline in January of 2021. The increase in March volumes was driven largely by U.S. corporate equity identifier requests, which increased by 22.7%.
Request Volumes – Corporate CUSIPs
Municipal request volume also climbed in March. The aggregate total of identifier requests for new municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – rose 19.5% versus February totals. On a year-over-year basis, overall municipal volumes were up 10.0%.
Request Volumes – Municipal CUSIPs
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 91 national numbering agencies and 25 partner agencies representing 120 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.
