U.S. equity underwriting activity declined, but total securities issuance was up in the second quarter, according to the latest data from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
The Washington, D.C.-based trade group published market statistics on Wednesday, including issuance data, for a broad range of asset classes across the U.S. capital markets, which shows that total securities issuance was US$1.76 trillion in the second quarter (Q2 2105), up 3.1% from the first quarter, and up 10.1% from the second quarter of 2014. Issuance increased in all asset classes except for federal agencies, asset-backed securities, and equities, SIFMA notes.
Equity underwriting fell 9.5% in Q2 2015 to US$81.0 billion, down from US$89.5 billion in the first quarter, and down 14.2% from the same quarter a year ago. Still, SIFMA notes that issuance was 13.3% higher the five-year average of US$71.5 billion.
Asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance came in at US$60.1 billion, down 2.7% from the first quarter, and down 14.8% from Q2 last year. The auto industry continued to lead issuance activity, contributing 46.1% of total quarterly issuance; followed by credit cards, which accounted for 14.7% of issuance.
Corporate bond issuance came in at US$442.6 billion in Q2 2015, up 1.7% from the first quarter, and up 3.5% from Q2 2014. Mortgage-related securities issuance totalled US$441.2 billion. Long-term public municipal issuance volume rose 6.2% to US$110.4 billion; and, federal agency long-term debt issuance was US$88.9 billion.
Total gross issuance of Treasury bills and coupons for the quarter was US$1.69 trillion in Q2 2015, unchanged from the first quarter, but up by 1.1% from the same quarter in 2014.