CUSIP Request Volume Dips In November, Signaling Possible Slow-Down In New Security Issuance - New Corporate And Municipal Bond Issuers Tap tThe Brakes Amid Election Uncertainty

CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for November 2016. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, found a notable slowdown in the pre-trade market for corporate securities and municipal bonds during the month of November.

CUSIP identifier requests for U.S. corporate debt and equity offerings totaled 1,705 in November, a 6% decrease from October totals. This was the slowest volume of U.S. corporate equity CUSIP requests since June and the slowest volume of U.S. corporate debt CUSIP requests since August. On a year-over-year basis, corporate debt and equity CUSIP requests for the Americas were down 2% through November.

Municipal bond requests also fell in November, with 1,231 muni identifier requests processed in the month, a 10% decline from October levels.  Still, total municipal bond request volume is up 8% on a year-over-year basis, reflecting a strong appetite for new issuance throughout the majority of 2016.

“The combination of a holiday-shortened month and a great deal of uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election clearly had an impact on CUSIP request volume during the month of November,” said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services. “That will make December’s volume even more critical to watch as we look for signals for what might be in store for capital markets in 2017.”

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) volume were mixed again in November.  International equity CINS increased 13%, while international debt CINS decreased 16% during the month. On a year-over-year basis, international equity requests were down 52% and international debt requests were down 4%, reflecting a volatile year of new instrument issuance activity in international markets.

“While the election and calendar played a role in this month’s request volume, the consistent upward march of interest rates will be the key variable to watch in next month’s data set,” said Richard Peterson, Senior Director, S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury reached a 16 month high during the month of November; if that trend continues it will surely impact new issuance volume.”

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 November 2016: