NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced a partnership with ACRe Data Inc. (ACRe) to provide two new mapping files that link municipal CUSIP identifiers with ACRe's environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and other geographic and socioeconomic data relevant to each municipal bond issuer. By pairing the CUSIP ID with ACRe's localized ESG scoring data, the new data files will give institutional and retail investors a clearer perspective on ESG risk assessments of their municipal bond portfolios.

The CUSIP is a nine-character alphanumeric security identifier that captures the unique attributes of issuers and their financial instruments throughout the U.S. and Canada. In the municipal bond market, the CUSIP is used by investors to uniquely identify and track municipal securities and link them with the underlying issuing entity (e.g. a municipal water treatment facility or a school system). Through this partnership, CGS will link to geographic, socioeconomic and other regional data, along with ACRe's ESG scoring related to each municipal ID.

Under the partnership, CGS and ACRe will link the first six characters of the unique CUSIP ID for each municipal issue with the geographic identifier (GEOID) hierarchy for the issuer, including state, county, city and school district level detail. The GEOID is a unique geographic identifier assigned by the U.S. Census Bureau to administrative/legal and statistical geographic areas. That GEOID-level detail is then paired with ACRe's proprietary ESG scoring rubric, giving market participants insight into what level of exposure their municipal securities have to certain ESG attributes.

"This new capability addresses a longstanding issue in the U.S. municipal bond market, where interested parties could not easily make the link between underlying issuer and related census, socioeconomic, climate change and crime data," said Scott Preiss, Managing Director and Global Head of CUSIP Global Services. "Through this partnership with ACRe, we are able to deliver even more transparency into the municipal bond market, facilitating links to data that can be used to inform risk models and values-based investment strategies. We are honored to be in a position to support the municipal market in a way that will benefit both institutional and retail markets."

Initially, CGS will provide two new data files augmented with ACRe data:

• CGSACRe: This data file will link the first six characters of the CUSIP ID to the GEOID hierarchy for the issuer, supporting the mapping of state, county, city and census tract-level socioeconomic, climate risk, environmental and crime data to the underlying municipal bond issuer.
• CGSACReESG: This data file will include all of the information provided in the CGSACRe file, along with ACRe's proprietary ESG scoring data, giving investors a direct link between underlying municipal issuer and ESG exposure.

"We're thrilled to be working with CGS to start the process of embedding of vital ESG metrics into the foundational infrastructure of financial markets," said John McLean, Managing Director of ACRe Data Inc.  "We believe this standardized approach to ESG scoring and reporting will help market participants incorporate ESG into their workflows and speed the adoption of values-based investment strategies in the municipal bond market."

For more information on the two new mapping files, please visit: https://acredata.com/cusip-%2F-geoid-file  

About ACRe Data Inc.

ACRe Data Inc. is the largest provider of ESG Scoring, rankings, and underlying datasets for the U.S. Municipal Bond marketplace.  ACRe was created in 2015 in response to the need for Alternative Data, and socioeconomic data for the universe of over 50,000 issuers of Municipal Debt in America.  ACRe ESG scores and datasets cover all Cities. Counties, School Districts, and States.  As of Q2 2020, ACRe utilizes seventy differing datasets for its calculation of ESG Scoring for the U.S. Municipal marketplace. For more information, visit www.acredata.com

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 116 national numbering agencies providing ISIN coverage across more than 200 jurisdictions.. 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.

For More Information:

Farhan Husain
farhan.husain@spglobal.com   
212-438-3271

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services