CUSIP Request Volume Surges In December, Driving Total 2020 Volumes For Corporate And Municipal Securities Above 2019 Totals - Volatile 2020 Ends With Municipal Volumes Up 10% And Corporate Volumes Up 7%

CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for December 2020. 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 increase in request volume for new corporate and municipal identifiers. On a year-over-year basis, total CUSIP request volume for corporate and municipal securities surpassed those seen in 2019.

CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt totaled 4,177 in December, up 6.4% from last month. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP requests are up 6.9%. The December 2020 monthly volume increase was focused in U.S. corporate equity, which climbed 24.0% versus November 2020 totals.

Municipal volume also increased in December. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – rose 12.6% versus November totals. On an annualized basis, municipal CUSIP identifier request volumes are up 10.1% through December. On a state-by-state basis, issuers in Texas requested 99 new municipal identifiers in December, followed by New York with 89 and California with 75.

"While it has clearly not been a straight path to this point, overall CUSIP request volume across nearly every major asset class ended 2020 considerably higher than last year," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. "Month-to-month results showed significant volatility throughout the year, but when the dust settled, we ended the year with a 10% increase in municipal request volume and a 7% increase in corporate request volumes, which is a real testament to the efficiency of our financial markets during a period of extreme uncertainty."

Requests for international equity and debt CUSIPs both rose in December. International equity CUSIP requests were up 3.4% versus November. International debt CUSIPs increased by 10.5% on a monthly basis. Syndicated loan requests were up 63.7% on a monthly basis and down 23.3% year over year.

To view the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report for December, click here.

Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through December 2020: