Technical Questions and Answers
This page provides additional information about data in the Board of Governors' statistical release on New Security Issues, U.S. Corporations. Most of the information is of a technical nature and represents answers to questions that may be of interest to a range of analysts and researchers. The page will be updated as such questions arise.
Documentation for the statistics in the New Security Issues, U.S. Corporations release is available on the About page.
Are medium-term notes included in the issuance numbers?
What raw data sources do you use?
What are all the filters that are applied to the raw data sources?
Is issuance by U.S. firms in foreign markets reported?
Is issuance by foreign firms in U.S. markets reported?
How is the domicile of an issue determined?
Q: Does financial issuance include asset-backed securities?
A: Yes, the financial issuance totals do include asset-backed securities.
Q: Are medium-term notes included in the issuance numbers?
A: Medium term notes (MTNs) are included in the issuance numbers.
Q: What raw data sources do you use?
A: We use two different data sources for non-MTN and MTN issuance. Non-MTN issuance data comes from Securities Data Company (now part of Thomson Financial) while MTN issuance data is collected from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.
Q: What are all the filters that are applied to the raw data sources?
A: We only report bonds issued by U.S. firms in domestic and foreign markets. In addition, we exclude bonds with a public status of government or agency and bank notes. We also exclude certain erroneous observations (e.g., observations that mistakenly report short-term ratings instead of long-term ratings).
Q: Is issuance by U.S. firms in foreign markets reported?
A: Yes, issuance by U.S. firms in foreign markets is included in the nonfinancial and financial aggregates. Issuance amounts are tracked in dollars.
Q: Is issuance by foreign firms in U.S. markets reported?
A: No, issuance by foreign firms in U.S. markets is not reported.
Q: How is the domicile of an issue determined?
A: The domicile refers to the nation of the issuing firm, not the parent firm. Thus, if a foreign company’s U.S. subsidiary issues a bond, the domicile is designated as U.S.