CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for February 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 request volume for new corporate identifiers, while municipal issuance rose.
North American corporate CUSIP requests totaled 7,358 in February, which represents a 2.3% decline on a monthly basis. On an annualized basis, North American corporate requests were up 18.1% over February 2025 totals. Requests for new U.S. corporate equity identifiers rose 4.4% and requests for new U.S. corporate debt identifiers climbed 4.3% for the month of February. The overall monthly decline in volume was driven by a 6.6% slowdown in requests for Canadian corporate identifiers and a 25.2% decline in requests for new medium-term notes (MTNs).
The aggregate total of identifier requests for new municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – rose 14.2% versus January totals. On a year-over-year basis, overall municipal volumes were up 0.7% through the end of February. Texas led state-level municipal request volume with a total of 113 new CUSIP requests in February, followed by Illinois (71) and New York (71).
“Overall request volume has been strong through the first two months of 2026 as issuers continue to demonstrate a desire to bring new securities to market,” said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. “The trend we’re seeing in U.S. corporate equities is particularly noteworthy as a possible indicator of a warming trend in the IPO market.”
Requests for international equity CUSIPs rose 35.2% in February and international debt CUSIP requests fell 1.7%. On an annualized basis, international equity CUSIP requests were up 9.5% and international debt CUSIP requests were up 18.9%.
To view the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report for February, please click here.
Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through February 2026:
| Asset Class | 2026 YTD | 2025 YTD | YOY Change |
| Private Placement Securities |
948 | 687 | 38.0% |
| Syndicated Loans | 485 | 379 | 28.0% |
| Short-Term Municipal Notes |
138 | 113 | 22.1% |
| International Debt | 1,398 | 1,176 | 18.9% |
| U.S. Corporate Equity | 2,373 | 2,112 | 12.4% |
| CDs < 1-year Maturity | 1,579 | 1,418 | 11.4% |
| International Equity |
301 | 275 | 9.5% |
| Long-Term Municipal Notes |
75 | 70 | 7.1% |
| CDs > 1-year Maturity | 1,202 | 1,183 | 1.6% |
| U.S. Corporate Debt | 4,768 | 5,020 | -5.0% |
| Municipal Bonds | 1,338 | 1,434 | -6.7% |
| Canada Corporate Debt & Equity |
911 | 1,135 | -19.7% |
