NEW YORK, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for March 2012.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests continued strength in US and international debt issuance over the next 30-90 days.

CUSIP requests for US corporate securities surged 26% over February's results with 2,044 CUSIP requests made in March. This represents the highest monthly count for this asset class since May 2008 when 2,002 domestic CUSIPS were sought.  Overall, US corporate CUSIP request volume is up 8% from 2011 figures.

Municipal CUSIP requests continued to surge in March with 1,617 new muni identifiers sought, making this the strongest month for municipal CUSIP orders since November 2010. Year-over-year, municipal CUSIP requests have climbed 57% in the first three months of 2012 suggesting continued growth in new municipal debt issuance in 2012.

For the second month in a row, international debt and equity CUSIP requests continued to show signs of recovery, suggesting a renewed investor interest in European debt.  International equity CUSIP orders in March totaled 283, the best monthly showing since November 2011. International debt identifier jumped 55% from February's totals with 181 identifier orders, the best monthly showing since April 2011.

"CUSIP activity rebounded across several security classes in March signaling a renewed appetite among issuers to tap into an active underwriting market," said Richard Peterson, Director, Global Markets Intelligence, S&P Capital IQ.  "With strength and growth displayed both domestically and internationally, the up-tick in issuance may signal a new confidence among investors in 2012."

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 March 2012:

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.

[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

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services