CUSIP Global Services’ (CGS) CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for October 2020 has revealed a significant surge in municipal request volume for the second straight month, while corporate volumes declined throughout the US and Canada.CUSIP identifier requests for US corporate debt declined 9.2 per cent in October, while requests for new US equity identifiers fell 4.9 per cent and Canadian requests were down 8.7 per cent versus last month’s totals. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP requests are up 12.2 per cent.
Municipal requests climbed in October. The aggregate total of all municipal securities – including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper – surged 31.8 per cent versus September totals. On an annualised basis, municipal CUSIP identifier request volumes were up 15.4 per cent through October. On a state-by-state basis, issuers in Texas requested 300 new municipal identifiers in October, followed by California with 175 and New York with 148.
“The real story in this month’s data comes from the municipal market, where issuers have really ramped up access to debt markets,” says Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. “In Texas alone we saw 300 identifier requests for new municipal debt issues this month. It’s clear that the combination of low rates and increasing funding needs is creating a recipe for increased municipal market activity.”
Requests for international equity and debt CUSIPs were mixed in October. International equity CUSIP requests were down 13.8 per cent versus September. International debt CUSIPs increased 5.9 per cent on a monthly basis. Syndicated loan requests were up 38.0 per cent on a monthly basis and down 28.2 per cent year over year.
