New Stock, Bond Issues in ’92 Set Record

New issues of stocks and bonds in the United States surged to a record $838 billion in 1992, a 42% increase from 1991, according to preliminary results for the year prepared by Securities Data Co.

Wall Street investment banks were prime beneficiaries of the surging stock and bond sales, gathering a record $6.7 billion in underwriting fees this year, up from $4.7 billion in 1991, Securities Data said.

Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation’s No. 1 securities firm, remained the top underwriter for the fifth straight year with $138 billion in sales, 16.5% of the total, Securities Data said.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., the nation’s biggest investment banking partnership, came in second with $102 billion, or 12.2% of the total. Lehman Bros., the securities subsidiary of American Express Co., was third with $99.8 billion, or 11.9% of the market.

Corporate bond sales, boosted by the lowest long-term interest rates in five years, reached a record $301 billion in 1992, compared to $307 billion for 1991 and 1990 combined. Merrill led in corporate bond sales with $71.8 billion, followed by Goldman with $50.4 billion and Lehman with $43 billion.

Sales of corporate bonds were boosted by a record $38 billion of junk bond sales, Securities Data said. The previous record was $31 billion in 1986. In 1991, junk sales totaled just $10 billion.

Common stock issues surged 29% to a record $72.4 billion from $56 billion in 1991, Securities Data said. Initial stock sales by newly public firms reached a record $38 billion, up from $25 billion last year. More than 600 companies listed new stocks this year.

Merrill Lynch led in equity sales this year, with $13.5 billion. Goldman was second with $10.4 billion, followed by Morgan Stanley with $7.2 billion.

Sales of mortgage-backed bonds, buoyed by refinancings, swelled to $373 billion in 1992 from $250 billion last year, Securities Data said. Kidder, Peabody & Co. was the leader with $67.8 billion of sales.

In the international securities market, sales of bonds and stocks in Europe advanced to a record $282 billion from $264 billion last year, Securities Data said.