Corporate Medium-Term Notes, 2000

U.S. corporations issued $71 billion of medium-term notes (MTNs) in 2000, down $64 billion 

from the 1999 total of $135 billion (table 1.A). Issuance by financial firms was $67 billion in 

2000, a decline of $54 billion; issuance by nonfinancial firms was $4 billion, a decline of $10 

billion. A total of 82 firms sold MTNs in 2000, down from 96 in 1999 (table 1.B), and the 

number of firms with MTNs outstanding also fell, to 436 (table 2.B). Outstandings at year-end 

rose slightly over year-end 1999, to $417 billion (tables 2.A and 3); most of the increase was the 

$6 billion rise at financial firms, to nearly $332 billion. Outstandings for nonfinancial firms 

decreased $5 billion, to $85 billion, after the previous year’s gain of $9 billion.

Borrowers in the corporate MTN market continue to have predominantly 

investment-grade ratings. As in 1999, roughly 99 percent of total MTN issuance had a rating of 

Baa or better (table 5.A). Single-A-rated issuers accounted for 50 percent of gross issuance, 

down from 62 percent in 1999. The share of AA-rated issuers increased to 37 percent, from 20 

percent in 1999. Two issuers had a speculative-grade credit rating last year (table 5.B).

The MTN market accounts for a sizable share of intermediate and long-term borrowing 

by U.S. companies. Outstanding MTN debt as a share of total corporate outstanding debt (MTNs 

plus corporate bonds) was 13 percent in 2000, down from 14 percent in 1999 (table 7).
 Table 1

 Gross Borrowing by U.S. Corporations in the U.S. Medium-Term Note Market

 A. Millions of Dollars

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 46,617 72,018 74,539 86,062 87,845 98,916 93,676 114,437 149,219 134,990 71,078

 

 Financial Corporations 29,936 45,773 50,626 57,842 70,074 79,462 81,954 98,879 128,524 121,041 67,226

 Auto Finance Companies 9,874 12,380 13,450 10,755 11,219 11,631 8,642 12,076 19,732 22,971 9,624

 Banking Firms 3,162 11,157 6,603 7,561 8,103 13,945 12,136 14,815 19,057 11,837 7,431

 Finance Companies* 12,289 14,802 18,635 19,305 30,386 34,017 32,948 31,969 43,393 41,365 25,609

 Real Estate, Insurance 1,186 1,027 1,129 1,422 846 1,671 2,391 3,646 5,483 3,249 1,916

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 25 0 67 861 500 1,285 1,518 180 100 180 150

 Securities Brokers 3,399 6,408 10,741 17,937 19,320 16,912 24,319 36,192 40,759 41,438 22,495

 Nonfinancial Corporations 16,681 26,245 23,913 28,220 17,771 19,455 11,722 15,578 20,695 13,950 3,852

 Electric, Gas and 3,221 5,143 7,535 10,858 2,523 2,732 1,877 2,765 3,198 1,866 990

 Water

 Manufacturing 6,497 12,503 9,190 8,394 6,817 7,531 5,221 6,321 9,213 6,556 1,523

 Services 1,237 2,409 1,747 3,079 3,529 4,691 3,144 4,187 6,837 4,429 1,127

 Telephone and 1,221 1,373 1,635 2,729 1,492 1,493 831 838 395 67 0

 Communication

 Transportation, 1,933 1,800 1,068 1,740 920 612 405 177 111 700 0

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 2,573 3,018 2,738 1,420 2,489 2,396 245 1,270 941 331 212

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 1

 Gross Borrowing by U.S. Corporations in the U.S. Medium-Term Note Market

 B. Number of Issuers

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 165 224 211 210 171 195 165 158 145 96 82

 

 Financial Corporations 65 76 66 71 68 78 87 84 71 53 49

 Auto Finance Companies 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 6 5 5

 Banking Firms 13 23 16 19 16 19 21 20 14 10 8

 Finance Companies* 37 38 31 28 27 31 33 33 23 19 19

 Real Estate, Insurance 5 7 10 12 11 14 18 14 18 10 8

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 1 0 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 1 1

 Securities Brokers 6 6 6 7 10 8 10 11 9 8 8

 Nonfinancial Corporations 100 148 145 139 103 117 78 74 74 43 33

 Electric, Gas and 30 44 56 60 37 42 31 32 31 16 15

 Water

 Manufacturing 41 62 51 47 39 46 29 20 26 13 12

 Services 7 10 7 7 8 7 7 6 7 8 5

 Telephone and 9 11 10 8 6 8 5 4 2 1 0

 Communication

 Transportation, 8 11 8 9 7 7 3 4 3 2 0

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 5 10 13 8 6 7 3 8 5 3 1

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 2

 Medium-Term Notes Outstanding

 A. Millions of Dollars

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 176,855 210,894 235,485 267,501 287,324 317,516 379,747 416,284 416,883

 

 Financial Corporations 108,277 125,404 145,858 171,096 194,536 242,685 298,482 326,376 331,835

 Auto Finance Companies 33,657 33,270 33,753 37,076 37,541 39,573 48,004 59,036 50,372

 Banking Firms 17,988 19,558 21,468 27,964 33,569 41,103 55,987 62,167 58,838

 Finance Companies* 39,306 45,257 57,686 70,542 78,197 83,141 98,852 111,177 116,267

 Real Estate, Insurance 3,442 4,567 4,757 6,083 8,002 12,628 21,839 24,080 28,239

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 805 1,002 1,250 2,255 2,670 490 340 340 265

 Securities Brokers 13,078 21,751 26,944 27,176 34,556 65,639 73,460 69,575 77,854

 Nonfinancial Corporations 68,578 85,490 89,627 96,405 92,788 74,832 81,265 89,909 85,047

 Electric, Gas and 18,895 28,178 28,771 29,658 28,288 21,788 23,550 24,689 24,666

 Water

 Manufacturing 27,384 30,885 31,959 33,945 34,204 25,405 28,353 35,524 33,979

 Services 5,211 6,182 7,453 10,091 10,944 10,365 11,681 9,429 7,285

 Telephone and 3,841 5,841 6,731 7,414 5,538 6,335 6,072 6,229 6,301

 Communication

 Transportation, 5,097 6,482 6,233 6,094 5,713 4,028 4,040 6,063 5,715

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 8,150 7,922 8,482 9,203 8,101 6,909 7,568 7,974 7,103

 Trade

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 2

 Medium-Term Notes Outstanding

 B. Number of Issuers with MTNs Outstanding

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 354 367 376 401 411 448 427 451 436

 

 Financial Corporations 119 115 114 121 126 175 168 177 174

 Auto Finance Companies 3 3 3 3 3 8 7 6 6

 Banking Firms 29 32 30 31 32 39 35 35 37

 Finance Companies* 47 47 48 47 46 69 64 69 66

 Real Estate, Insurance 17 17 18 24 29 39 41 46 44

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 17 9 5 6 6 4 3 3 3

 Securities Brokers 6 7 10 10 10 16 18 18 18

 Nonfinancial Corporations 235 252 262 280 285 273 259 274 262

 Electric, Gas and 74 83 83 90 91 86 85 89 89

 Water

 Manufacturing 99 104 111 117 117 97 93 92 86

 Services 13 13 13 14 14 19 16 17 16

 Telephone and 16 16 17 17 18 22 20 20 18

 Communication

 Transportation, 16 19 19 21 23 24 23 31 29

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 17 17 19 21 22 25 22 25 24

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 3

 Net Borrowing in the Medium-Term Note Market

 __________________________________________________________________________________________

 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 34,039 24,591 32,016 19,823 30,192 62,231 36,538 598

 

 Financial Corporations 17,127 20,454 25,238 23,440 48,149 55,797 27,893 5,460

 Auto Finance Companies -387 483 3,323 465 2,032 8,431 11,033 -8,664

 Banking Firms 1,570 1,910 6,496 5,605 7,534 14,884 6,180 -3,330

 Finance Companies* 5,951 12,429 12,856 7,655 4,944 15,711 12,324 5,091

 Real Estate, Insurance 1,125 190 1,326 1,919 4,626 9,211 2,241 4,159

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 197 248 1,005 415 -2,180 -150 0 -75

 Securities Brokers 8,673 5,193 232 7,380 31,083 7,821 -3,885 8,279

 Nonfinancial Corporations 16,912 4,137 6,778 -3,617 -17,956 6,433 8,644 -4,861

 Electric, Gas and 9,283 593 887 -1,370 -6,500 1,762 1,139 -24

 Water

 Manufacturing 3,501 1,074 1,986 259 -8,799 2,948 7,171 -1,545

 Services 971 1,271 2,638 853 -579 1,316 -2,252 -2,144

 Telephone and 2,000 890 683 -1,876 797 -263 158 72

 Communication

 Transportation, 1,385 -249 -139 -381 -1,685 12 2,023 -348

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail -228 560 721 -1,102 -1,192 659 406 -872

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 4

 Statistics on Firm-Level Outstandings of Medium-Term Notes

 A. Average Outstandings in Millions of Dollars

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 500 575 626 667 699 709 889 969 1,089

 

 Financial Corporations 910 1,090 1,279 1,414 1,544 1,387 1,777 1,844 1,907

 Auto Finance Companies 11,219 11,090 11,251 12,359 12,514 4,947 6,858 11,546 15,616

 Banking Firms 620 611 716 902 1,049 1,054 1,596 1,772 1,590

 Finance Companies* 836 963 1,202 1,501 1,700 1,205 1,547 1,613 1,762

 Real Estate, Insurance 202 269 264 253 276 324 533 523 642

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 47 111 250 376 445 150 113 113 88

 Securities Brokers 2,180 3,107 2,694 2,718 3,456 4,102 4,081 3,865 4,325

 Nonfinancial Corporations 292 339 342 344 326 274 314 406 547

 Electric, Gas and 255 339 347 330 311 253 280 280 280

 Water

 Manufacturing 277 297 282 290 292 262 304 390 399

 Services 401 476 573 721 782 546 691 527 431

 Telephone and 240 365 396 436 308 288 320 311 350

 Communication

 Transportation, 319 341 328 290 248 168 176 196 197

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 479 466 446 438 368 276 330 308 285

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 4

 Statistics on Firm-Level Outstandings of Medium-Term Notes

 B. Median Outstandings in Millions of Dollars

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 167 200 200 200 210 200 211 213 211

 

 Financial Corporations 229 260 346 394 323 300 340 375 352

 Auto Finance Companies 10,851 13,660 15,575 15,769 15,653 922 2,310 5,869 4,104

 Banking Firms 150 225 355 400 323 407 463 445 308

 Finance Companies* 444 442 477 621 851 504 475 552 603

 Real Estate, Insurance 133 200 169 121 163 150 150 192 198

 and Other Financial

 Companies

 Savings and Loans 25 26 16 105 135 105 100 100 100

 Securities Brokers 1,316 3,396 2,242 2,575 3,656 1,433 1,090 865 1,174

 Nonfinancial Corporations 157 198 183 185 176 150 170 180 168

 Electric, Gas and 165 185 200 197 208 160 198 187 164

 Water

 Manufacturing 140 193 170 160 150 138 150 180 160

 Services 300 248 299 345 503 224 199 161 125

 Telephone and 198 192 198 219 198 157 188 170 195

 Communication

 Transportation, 174 189 159 145 110 96 75 150 168

 Mining, and

 Construction

 Wholesale and Retail 150 245 250 250 166 172 200 196 225

 Trade

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.

 * Excluding auto finance companies.
 Table 5

 Ratings Distribution of Medium-Term Note Gross Issuance

 A. Millions of Dollars

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Aaa 1,635 4,250 2,966 4,091 9,274 10,358 4,740 2,065 10,021 11,401 8,020

 

 Aa 14,920 5,441 6,381 4,840 5,292 7,965 12,011 28,688 37,148 26,457 31,633

 A 23,731 51,589 50,652 57,800 58,600 65,440 60,910 68,080 86,054 84,159 42,958

 Baa 633 10,585 13,807 17,759 13,926 14,452 15,126 14,361 15,887 12,692 3,141

 Ba 0 145 732 1,573 618 573 757 266 159 226 76

 B 0 1 0 0 134 128 131 1,010 0 54 100

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source has changed between 1996 and 1997.
 Table 5

 Ratings Distribution of Medium-Term Note Gross Issuance

 B. Number of Issuers

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Aaa 6 9 9 8 3 2 3 3 3 3 3

 

 Aa 25 27 23 25 14 19 17 28 21 14 13

 A 92 136 111 115 107 119 96 89 84 52 51

 Baa 48 59 69 64 50 53 50 39 36 24 13

 Ba 0 2 7 8 5 4 3 2 1 2 1

 B 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 4 0 1 1

 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Data source has changed between 1996 and 1997.
 Table 6

 Ratings Distribution of Medium-Term Notes

 (Millions of Dollars)

 A. Year-end Outstandings

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 235,485 267,501 287,324 317,516 379,747 416,284 416,883

 

 Aaa 12,725 17,021 13,599 10,732 15,948 24,266 31,309

 Aa 15,686 22,984 38,027 65,233 88,662 85,094 93,828

 A 142,543 161,758 168,488 186,203 213,057 240,211 232,824

 Baa 59,603 61,040 61,449 47,283 56,776 61,781 54,523

 Ba 4,136 3,723 4,638 3,178 3,502 3,568 3,534

 B 343 500 635 1,956 1,422 1,003 621

 Other 0 0 0 2,931 380 362 244

 Financial Corporations 145,858 171,096 194,536 242,685 298,482 326,376 331,835

 Aaa 12,130 16,621 13,045 9,753 15,271 23,621 31,083

 Aa 9,747 16,185 30,771 58,779 81,278 76,558 85,626

 A 96,965 107,663 119,131 153,287 164,271 186,603 180,568

 Baa 25,839 29,410 30,337 26,389 35,235 37,695 33,083

 Ba 1,177 1,218 1,251 537 787 707 682

 B 0 0 0 1,905 1,381 972 621

 Other 0 0 0 1,913 260 219 173

 Nonfinancial Corporations 89,627 96,405 92,788 74,832 81,265 89,909 85,047

 Aaa 595 400 554 999 677 645 226

 Aa 5,939 6,799 7,256 6,370 7,384 8,536 8,202

 A 45,579 54,095 49,357 42,910 48,787 53,608 52,256

 Baa 33,763 31,630 31,111 20,844 21,541 24,085 21,441

 Ba 2,959 2,506 3,387 2,641 2,715 2,861 2,852

 B 343 500 635 51 41 31 0

 Other 0 0 0 1,018 120 143 71

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.
 Table 6

 Ratings Distribution of Medium-Term Notes

 B. Net Change

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporations 24,591 32,016 19,823 30,192 62,231 36,538 598

 

 Aaa 3,926 4,296 -3,422 -2,867 5,216 8,319 7,042

 Aa 2,826 7,298 15,043 27,206 23,429 -3,568 8,734

 A 19,999 19,215 6,730 17,715 26,854 27,153 -7,387

 Baa -2,629 1,437 409 -14,166 9,493 5,005 -7,257

 Ba 499 -413 915 -1,460 324 66 -34

 B -30 157 135 1,321 -534 -419 -382

 Other 0 0 0 0 -2,551 -18 -118

 Financial Corporations 20,454 25,238 23,440 48,149 55,797 27,893 5,460

 Aaa 4,560 4,491 -3,576 -3,292 5,518 8,350 7,462

 Aa 4,894 6,438 14,586 28,008 22,499 -4,720 9,068

 A 15,793 10,698 11,468 34,156 10,984 22,333 -6,036

 Baa -4,757 3,571 927 -3,948 8,846 2,461 -4,612

 Ba -36 41 33 -714 250 -80 -25

 B 0 0 0 1,905 -524 -409 -351

 Other 0 0 0 0 -1,653 -41 -46

 Nonfinancial Corporations 4,137 6,778 -3,617 -17,956 6,433 8,644 -4,861

 Aaa -634 -195 154 445 -322 -32 -419

 Aa -2,068 860 457 -886 1,014 1,152 -334

 A 4,208 8,516 -4,738 -6,447 5,877 4,821 -1,351

 Baa 2,127 -2,133 -519 -10,267 697 2,544 -2,645

 Ba 535 -453 881 -746 74 146 -9

 B -30 157 135 -584 -10 -10 -31

 Other 0 0 0 0 -898 23 -72

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 Note. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

 Data source changed between 1996 and 1997.
 Table 7

 Ratio of Medium-Term Notes Outstanding to the 

 Sum of Medium-Term Notes and Corporate Bonds Outstanding

 (percent)

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 All U.S. Corporate MTNs and Bonds 16 17 19 19 18 19 15 14 13

 

 All U.S. Corporate MTNs and Bonds 19 21 23 23 22 23 17 16 15

 with Investment-Grade Ratings

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Source. Moody’s Investor Service for corporate bond outstandings. Both Moody’s and Federal

 Reserve figures exclude private placements, asset-backed securities, bonds issued by federal

 agencies, eurobonds, and Yankee bonds. Moody’s figures include convertible bonds.