Corporate Medium-Term Notes, 2002

Medium-term notes (MTNs) outstanding at the end of 2002 totaled $516 billion (table 1), up 

from $479 billion in 2001. Outstandings at financial firms increased $38 billion, and these 

firms’ share of all MTNs rose to about 82 percent; outstandings at nonfinancial firms fell about 

$1 billion. Among financial firms, non-auto finance companies again showed the largest 

increase in MTNs, which jumped $33 billion, to $187 billion; asset-backed outstandings 

increased about $13 billion, to $33 billion. Outstandings of nonfinancial firms were little 

changed. Slight declines were recorded in the following sectors: electric, gas, and water; 

services; and transportation, mining, and construction. They were nearly offset by slight 

increases in the manufacturing, telephone, and communication sector and in wholesale and retail 

trade. At year-end 2002, the total number of firms with MTNs outstanding was about the same 

as the year-earlier figure—the number of financial firms rose by twelve, and the number of 

nonfinancial firms fell by thirteen (table 2).

The distribution of MTNs outstanding by the rating category of the issuer shifted somewhat in 

2002 (table 3). Most outstandings continued to be issued by firms with investment-grade ratings 

(AAA through BBB); only $17 billion of the $516 billion total was rated BB or lower (including 

MTNs of Aother@ firms—those rated lower than B or not rated). Among investment-grade firms, 

the share of MTNs at firms rated A or higher jumped from 80 percent of the total to 91 percent, 

as outstandings of BBB financial firms fell dramatically. 

As is consistent with the increase in outstandings, gross issuance of MTNs rose to $258 billion in 

2002 from $223 billion in 2001 (table 4). The rise is more than accounted for by a near doubling 

of issuance by non-auto finance companies (from $61 billion to $112 billion) and by assetbacked issuers (from $15 billion to $29 billion). Gross issuance by nonfinancial corporations 

grew moderately. The number of MTN issuers increased by 13, to 135, in 2002 (table 5). The 

distribution of MTN issuance in 2002 by the rating category of the issuer was similar to that of 

outstanding MTNs (table 6). Speculative-grade issuers rated BB or B did not issue MTNs in 

2002. However, firms in the Aother@ rating category, which includes firms rated lower than B, 

issued about $5 billion of MTNs. Among investment-grade issuers, the share of issuance from 

firms rated A or higher jumped from 87 percent of the total to 97 percent.
Table 1: Dollar Volume of Medium-Term Notes Outstanding

(Millions of dollars, end of period)

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All U.S. corporations 210,895 235,486 267,501 287,323 302,102 388,729 420,565 446,439 Financial corporations 125,405 145,857 171,096 194,535 221,247 290,424 320,165 349,344 

Finance companies 78,527 91,439 107,618 115,738 121,370 150,041 164,238 167,616 

Auto 33,270 33,753 37,076 37,541 38,496 45,794 57,016 48,017 Other 45,257 57,686 70,542 78,197 82,874 104,247 107,222 119,599 

Banking firms 19,558 21,468 27,964 33,569 35,666 52,201 63,333 61,200 Savings and loans 1,002 1,250 2,255 2,670 600 340 840 265 Securities brokers 21,751 26,944 27,176 34,556 56,692 74,105 75,717 94,379 Asset-backed n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 81 3,668 4,965 9,951 Other1 4,567 4,756 6,083 8,002 6,838 10,069 11,072 15,933 

Nonfinancial corporations 85,490 89,629 96,405 92,788 80,855 98,305 100,400 97,095 

Electric, gas, and water 28,178 28,771 29,658 28,288 21,979 24,464 23,972 26,877 Manufacturing 30,885 31,959 33,945 34,204 21,941 29,734 30,143 27,291 Services 6,182 7,453 10,091 10,944 12,009 14,382 15,494 13,171 Telephone and

communication 5,841 6,731 7,414 5,538 13,367 15,951 16,165 15,365 

Transportation, mining, and

construction 6,482 6,233 6,094 5,713 3,887 5,232 6,088 5,945 

Wholesale and retail trade 7,922 8,482 9,203 8,101 7,672 8,542 8,538 8,446 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997. Data fro

through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” financial corporations consist of insurance, real estate, and miscellaneous investing institutions.

n.a. Not available.
Table 2: Number of Issuers of Medium-Term Notes Outstanding

(End of period)

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 All U.S. corporations 367 376 401 411 435 460 456 460 461 Financial corporations 115 114 121 126 156 167 170 177 176 

Finance companies 50 51 50 49 59 63 62 64 61 

Auto 3 3 3 3 7 7 6 6 6 Other 47 48 47 46 52 56 56 58 55 

Banking firms 32 30 31 32 36 37 38 40 39 Savings and loans 9 5 6 6 4 3 4 3 3 Securities brokers 7 10 10 10 18 19 18 17 17 Asset-backed n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 2 3 4 7 8 Other1 17 18 24 29 37 42 44 46 48 

Nonfinancial corporations 252 262 280 285 279 293 286 283 285 

Electric, gas, and water 83 83 90 91 87 92 91 94 98 Manufacturing 104 111 117 117 91 98 95 90 92 Services 13 13 14 14 25 25 24 25 23 Telephone and

communication 16 17 17 18 26 25 24 22 22 

Transportation, mining, and

construction 19 19 21 23 21 24 23 21 22 

Wholesale and retail trade 17 19 21 22 29 29 29 31 28 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between

1996 and 1997. Data from 1997 through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” financial corporations consist of insurance, real estate, and miscellaneous investing

institutions.

n.a. Not available.
Table 3: Dollar Volume of Medium-Term Notes Outstanding, by Rating Category of Issu

(Millions of dollars, end of period)

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All U.S. corporations 210,894 235,486 267,501 287,323 302,102 388,729 420,567 446,439 

AAA 8,799 12,725 17,021 13,599 11,470 16,779 25,620 38,901 AA 12,860 15,686 22,984 38,027 48,541 51,318 50,110 98,170 A 122,544 142,543 161,758 168,488 197,197 266,444 283,925 248,306 BBB 62,232 59,603 61,040 61,449 37,515 43,563 49,610 45,399 BB 3,637 4,136 3,723 4,638 5,166 5,989 6,200 7,268 B 373 343 500 635 884 898 403 4,712 Other1 450 451 475 488 1,331 3,740 4,698 3,684 

Financial corporations 125,404 145,857 171,096 194,535 221,248 290,424 320,166 349,344 

AAA 7,570 12,130 16,621 13,045 10,013 15,562 24,505 38,230 AA 4,853 9,747 16,185 30,771 34,180 34,492 30,757 81,514 A 81,172 96,964 107,662 119,131 157,758 214,799 234,069 204,320 BBB 30,596 25,839 29,410 30,337 16,142 20,098 25,199 15,426 BB 1,213 1,177 1,218 1,251 1,346 1,263 938 1,795 B 0 0 0 0 704 718 243 4,546 Other1 0 0 0 0 1,105 3,492 4,455 3,513 

Nonfinancial corporations 85,490 89,629 96,405 92,788 80,854 98,305 100,401 97,095 

AAA 1,229 595 400 554 1,456 1,217 1,115 671 AA 8,007 5,939 6,799 7,256 14,361 16,826 19,353 16,656 A 41,371 45,579 54,095 49,357 39,440 51,644 49,857 43,985 BBB 31,636 33,763 31,630 31,111 21,372 23,464 24,411 29,973 BB 2,424 2,959 2,506 3,387 3,819 4,726 5,262 5,473 B 373 343 500 635 180 180 160 166 Other1 450 451 475 488 226 248 243 171 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997. Data fro

through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” consists of firms rated less than B and those not rated by S&P or Moody’s.

n.a. Not available.
Table 4: Dollar Volume of Gross Issuance of Medium-Term Notes

(Millions of dollars)

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All U.S. corporations 86,061 88,144 98,916 93,677 114,436 149,219 170,753 210,183 2Financial corporations 57,841 70,374 79,461 81,954 98,878 128,524 149,291 190,487 2

Finance companies 30,060 41,605 45,648 41,590 44,045 63,125 70,570 74,122 

Auto 10,755 11,219 11,631 8,642 12,076 19,732 26,909 17,534 Other 19,305 30,386 34,017 32,948 31,969 43,393 43,661 56,588 

Banking firms 7,561 8,103 13,945 12,136 14,815 19,057 24,038 22,199 Savings and loans 861 500 1,285 1,518 180 100 500 0 Securities brokers 17,937 19,320 16,912 24,319 36,192 40,759 46,275 78,761 Asset-backed n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 5,438 8,469 Other1 1,422 846 1,671 2,391 3,646 5,483 2,470 6,936 

Nonfinancial corporations 28,220 17,770 19,455 11,723 15,558 20,695 21,462 19,696 

Electric, gas, and water 10,858 2,523 2,732 1,877 2,765 3,198 2,493 5,586 Manufacturing 8,394 6,817 7,531 5,221 6,321 9,213 7,023 5,699 Services 3,079 3,529 4,691 3,144 4,187 6,837 5,012 1,941 Telephone and

communication 2,729 1,492 1,493 831 838 395 4,292 3,788 

Transportation, mining, and

construction 1,740 920 612 405 177 111 1,558 1,088 

Wholesale and retail trade 1,420 2,489 2,396 245 1,270 941 1,084 1,594 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997. Data 

1999 through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” financial corporations consist of insurance, real estate, and miscellaneous investing institutions.

n.a. Not available.
Table 5: Number of Issuers of Medium-Term Notes

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 All U.S. corporations 210 171 195 165 158 145 150 145 122 Financial corporations 71 68 78 87 84 71 77 80 67 

Finance companies 31 30 34 36 38 29 29 34 27 

Auto 3 3 3 3 5 6 5 5 4 Other 28 27 31 33 33 23 24 29 23 

Banking firms 19 16 19 21 20 14 16 13 11 Savings and loans 2 1 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 Securities brokers 7 10 8 10 11 9 11 11 9 Asset-backed n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 4 6 8 Other1 12 11 14 18 14 18 16 16 12 

Nonfinancial corporations 139 103 117 78 74 74 73 65 55 

Electric, gas, and water 60 37 42 31 32 31 22 25 20 Manufacturing 47 39 46 29 20 26 24 18 18 Services 7 8 7 7 6 7 10 9 6 Telephone and

communication 8 6 8 5 4 2 5 4 2 

Transportation, mining, and

construction 9 7 7 3 4 3 6 4 5 

Wholesale and retail trade 8 6 7 3 8 5 6 5 4 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between

1996 and 1997. Data from 1999 through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” financial corporations consist of insurance, real estate, and miscellaneous investing

institutions.

n.a. Not available.
Table 6: Dollar Volume of Gross Issuance of Medium-Term Notes, by Rating Category of I

(Millions of dollars)

Issuer 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All U.S. Corporations 86,063 87,844 98,916 93,675 114,470 149,269 170,753 210,181 2

AAA 4,091 9,274 10,358 4,740 2,065 10,021 15,832 25,730 AA 4,840 5,292 7,965 12,011 28,688 37,148 15,277 49,541 A 57,800 58,600 65,440 60,910 68,080 86,054 124,568 122,556 1BBB 17,759 13,926 14,452 15,126 14,361 15,887 10,289 9,713 BB 1,573 618 573 757 266 159 478 451 B 0 134 128 131 1,010 0 100 50 Other1 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 4,209 2,140 

Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997. Data 

1999 through 2001 were significantly revised in 2002. 1“Other” consists of firms rated less than B and those not rated by S&P or Moody’s.

n.a. Not available.