Citi Agency & Trust on CP; MFU Starts
A recent bulletin entitled, "Citi Agency & Trust North America Conventional Debt: 2014 in Review" gives a brief update on the commercial paper and CD marketplaces. (Note: Citi's Rob Crowe and Jean-Luc Sinniger are scheduled to give an update on the CP market at our Money Fund University, which takes place Thursday and Friday in Stamford, Conn. The CPIWG's Marian Trano will also speak on the CD market.) Citi's update reads, "In 2014, Citi Agency & Trust reached many key milestones, including supporting a record level of USD 500b in CP and CD debt outstanding and increasing our CP market share year-over-year by 10% to 32%.... During the year, we continued our commitment in the Commercial Paper Issuer's Working Group and [SIFMA].... As a key provider of IPA services, we continually monitor trends for money market instruments and corporate debt.... Market highlight ... include: At year-end 2014, U.S. CP outstanding was USD 930.4b, slightly down from the year-end 2013 amount of USD 951.6b, according to the Federal Reserve Board. Key market movements included: Financial CP outstanding decreased approximately 4% from year-end 2013 to year-end 2014, primarily due to a 7% decrease in domestic Financial CP and a 2% decrease in foreign Financial CP. Certificates of Deposit increased 4% year-over-year to USD 947.9b at year-end 2014. Non-financial CP outstanding increased by approximately 16% from year-end 2013 to year-end 2014, with a 26% increase in domestic Non-financial CP and a 13% decrease in foreign Non-financial CP. Asset Backed CP outstanding fell approximately 12% for the same period, although it slightly exceeded Non-financial CP outstanding throughout Q1 2014, and in June and December." In other news, The Wall Street Journal writes, "Fed Officials on Track to Raise Short-Term Rates Later in the Year." It says, "Federal Reserve officials are staying on track to start raising short-term interest rates later this year, even though long-term rates are going in the other direction amid new investor worries about weak global growth, falling oil prices and slowing consumer price inflation."
