NEW YORK, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for March 2015.  The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, suggests a notable increase in corporate and municipal debt issuance over the next several weeks.

"By tracking incremental changes in pre-trade CUSIP request volume, we are able to project with a very high degree of certainty that issuers of new debt and equity instruments will be making a major push to market over the next several weeks," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services.  "Within that overall surge in volume, the real story here is in the municipal bond market, where issuers have taken advantage of low rates to drive request volume up over 50% so far this year."

Municipal CUSIP request volume surged for the third straight month in March, increasing 10% over February totals, with a total of 1,438 new identifier requests made over the course of the month.  This was the highest level of municipal CUSIP request activity since May 2013.  On a year-over-year basis, municipal bond identifier requests are up 51% through the end of the first quarter. Texas has led the way among municipal bond issuers, with a total of 460 new CUSIP requests made in the first three months of the year. 

Total CUSIP requests for new U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt increased 23% in March, with a total of 2,229 new identifiers requested over the course of the month. Within those totals, domestic corporate debt CUSIP demand rose to 1,041 new requests in March, the first time corporate debt CUSIP requests topped 1,000 in a single month since October of 2013. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP request volume was down -8.3%, reflecting a sharp slowdown in early 2015.

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) orders also increased significantly in March.  Requests for new international debt CINS increased 34% in March, while requests for new equity CINS increased 21%. 

"Issuers of new securities have made their intentions known: they plan to get into the market and get in quickly," said Richard Peterson, Senior Director of Global Markets Intelligence, S&P Capital IQ. "While the CUSIP indicator had been sending mixed signals throughout the end of 2014 and into early 2015, the consensus is now clear across virtually every major asset class.  We're going to see a surge in new security issuance."

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 March 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]  "International" Equity refers to market requests for CUSIP International Numbers ("CINS") for non-U.S. equity offerings

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

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services