NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for December 2013.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests a potential slowdown in new capital markets activity as we enter the first quarter of 2014.

Total CUSIP requests for new U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt issues posted a 2.7% annual gain in 2013 over 2012, with a total of 21,414 new identifiers requested over the course of the year.  More recent activity, however, has been less robust.  During the month of December 2013, just 1,578 new CUSIP requests were made for North American corporate identifiers, the slowest monthly tally for the year.  December marked the second consecutive month of monthly declines in new CUSIP request volume.

Municipal CUSIP requests decreased on both a month-to-month and year-over-year basis in December.  Just 874 new muni identifier requests were made in December, a 14% decline from November totals and the second slowest month of the year.  On a year-over-year basis, total muni volume shrunk by 21% in 2013.

Internationally, debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) requests, by contrast, have rebounded throughout the course of 2013.  International equity CUSIP requests increased 24% and international debt CUSIP requests increased 26% on a year-over-year basis.

"While we're still seeing strong capital markets activity in the U.S., the corporate bond issuance party may be slowing down a bit as we turn the corner to 2014," said Richard Peterson, Director, Global Markets Intelligence, S&P Capital IQ.  "Clearly, corporate and municipal bond issuers have been reading the macroeconomic tea leaves carefully and seizing the most advantageous opportunities to issue new debt.  The start of 2014 marks a bit of a period of uncertainty and that is clearly manifesting itself in new CUSIP request volume."

To view a copy of the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report, please click here.

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 December 2013:

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 over 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 S&P Capital IQ. 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

³ Private Placement Note identifiers are assigned for non-public instruments purchased by insurance companies

⁴ "U.S. & Canada Corporates" totals reflect requests for both equity and debt identifiers

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services