CUSIP Request Volume Ebbs In July, Signaling Slowdown In New Security Issuance - Municipal, Corporate Equity And Corporate Debt Pre-Market Activity Slows

CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for July 2018. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity, found across-the-board declines in monthly request volume for new municipal, corporate equity and corporate debt identifiers in July. This is suggestive of a possible slowdown in new security issuance.

CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S. and Canadian corporate offerings, which includes both equity and debt, totaled 4,197 in July, down 16.6% from June. On a year-over-year basis, corporate identifier request volume through July 2018 is 2.8% higher than the same period in 2017. The monthly decline in corporate request volume was driven by a 19.2% decrease in requests for corporate debt identifiers and an 11.1% decrease in requests for corporate equity identifiers.

Municipal CUSIP requests also declined in July, following a four month run of consecutive volume increases. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – logged a 28.9% decrease from June levels. On a year-over-year basis, total municipal identifier request volume is down 15% versus the same period last year.

"It should not come as a big surprise that the four-month streak of monthly CUSIP request volume increases would come to an end in July," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CUSIP Global Services. "Seasonality is clearly a factor as CUSIP requests historically tend to slow in the summer months, but we're also staring down the prospect of rising interest rates, which could have a more lasting impact on new issuance as the year progresses."

International debt and equity CUSIP International Numbers (CINS) both decreased in July. International equity CINS were down 21.2% during the month, while international debt CINS decreased 16.2% during the month. On a year-over-year basis, international equity requests were up 23.3% and international debt requests were up 5.7%, reflecting continued volatility in international markets.

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 July 2018: