CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for August 2026. 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 monthly decrease in request volume for new corporate identifiers, and a rebound in request volume for new municipal identifiers.
North American corporate CUSIP requests totaled 8,547 in August, which represents an 8.3% decrease on a monthly basis. On an annualized basis, North American corporate requests were up 9.1% over August 2025 totals. Requests for new U.S. corporate debt identifiers rose 4.0% and requests for new U.S. corporate equity identifiers rose 2.0% for the month of August.
The aggregate total of identifier requests for new municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – rose 7.4% versus July totals. On a year-over-year basis, overall municipal volumes were down 4.0% through the end of August. Texas led state-level municipal request volume with a total of 288 new CUSIP requests in August, followed by New York (166) and California (97).
“Municipal request volume rebounded in August after last month’s slowdown, which signals continued fundraising appetite among state and local issuers heading into the fourth quarter,” said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. “Overall corporate CUSIP volume eased from July’s elevated pace, though demand for new U.S. corporate debt and equity identifiers continued to tick higher, which suggests the underlying issuance pipeline remains healthy even as headline totals moderate.”
Requests for international equity CUSIPs fell 25.6% in August and international debt CUSIP requests were down 10.4%. On an annualized basis, international equity CUSIP requests were up 0.5% and international debt CUSIP requests were up 12.6%.
To view the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report for August, please click here.
Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through August 2026:
| Asset Class | 2026 YTD | 2025 YTD | YOY Change |
| U.S. Corporate Equity | 9,951 | 7,798 | 27.6% |
| International Debt | 5,228 | 4,645 | 12.6% |
| Private Placement Securities |
3,981 | 3,536 | 12.6% |
| Short-Term Municipal Notes |
743 | 696 | 6.8% |
| Syndicated Loans | 2,051 | 1,956 | 4.9% |
| Long-Term Municipal Notes |
606 | 589 | 2.9% |
| International Equity |
1,229 | 1,223 | 0.5% |
| U.S. Corporate Debt | 22,693 | 23,017 | -1.4% |
| CDs > 1-year Maturity | 5,030 | 5,127 | -1.9% |
| CDs < 1-year Maturity | 6,037 | 6,266 | -3.7% |
| Municipal Bonds | 7,389 | 7,871 | -6.1% |
| Canada Corporate Debt & Equity |
3,594 | 4,471 | -19.6% |
