CBN Opens N400bn Treasury Bills for Subscriptions
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opened N400 billion worth of local treasury bills for subscription on Wednesday, bringing the total number of auctions in the quarter to eight, rather than the seven initially proposed.
The auction will offer a cumulative N400.00 billion across the three tenors, comprising N100.00 billion in 91-day bills, N100.00 billion in 182-day bills, and N200.00 billion in 364-day bills, investment firm Meristem Securities Limited told investors in a note.
Fixed-income market analysts reported that Nigerian Treasury bills with a maturity of N745.80 billion, all with a 364-day tenor, are expected to mature this week.
At the last auction, the CBN offered N1.05 trillion worth of Nigerian bills across the three tenors, representing a +23.53% increase from the N800 billion offered at the previous auction.
In tandem with the higher offer size, investors’ appetite strengthened, with total subscriptions rising by 10.14% to N3.06 trillion, from N2.78 trillion as of March 11, 2026, according to Meristem Securities.
The investment firm said this was supported by elevated system liquidity of N8.24 trillion, partly driven by sustained inflows into the standing deposit facility (SDF), which stood at N8.06 trillion as of the last auction day.
Details from the auction results showed that demand remained heavily skewed toward the 364-day maturity, accounting for 94.48% of total subscriptions, while the 91-day and 182-day bills accounted for 3.34% and 2.19%, respectively.
Despite increases in both offer size and subscriptions, analysts reported that the total allotment declined by 25.92% to N691.87 billion.
“This reduction can be attributed to the government’s effort to manage borrowing costs, particularly as stop rates on the 182-day and 364-day instruments declined by 3bps and 9bps to 16.62% and 16.63%, respectively, while the 91-day rate held steady at 15.95%,, Meristem told investors in the note.
In addition, relatively lower maturities of N579.00bn, compared to N711.16bn as of March 11, 2026, reduced the immediate refinancing need. Consequently, the bid-to-cover ratio increased to 4.43x from 2.98x in the previous auction, while the subscription-to-offer ratio declined to 2.92x from 3.27x.
Post-auction, the secondary market turned bearish, with average Nigerian Treasury bill yields rising to 17.81% as of March 23, 2025, from 17.76% on March 18, 2025.
The upward repricing was driven by sell-offs across the curve, particularly at the belly, with instruments such as the 8-Oct-26 and 17-Sep-26 recording yield increases of 55bps and 45bps, respectively.
However, some buying interest was observed in select papers, including the 10-Sep-26 and 4-Mar-27, which saw yield declines of 36bps and 21bps, respectively.
This suggests that the newly issued bills, priced at relatively attractive yields, triggered a revaluation of outstanding securities in the secondary market, resulting in a general upward adjustment in yields.
“We expect stop rates at tomorrow’s NTB auction to trend lower”, Meristem Securities Limited said in a pre-auction note. The firm said this outlook is anchored on secondary market yields on one-year bills, currently around 16.00%, which should guide investor expectations.
In addition, robust system liquidity of N8.18 trillion as of March 24, 2026, supported by N6.59 trillion in the SDF and N1.44 trillion in OMO repayments, is expected to sustain strong demand conditions.
Furthermore, upcoming T-bill maturities of N745.80bn, which exceed the auction size, imply a net repayment position of N345.80bn for the government.
This is expected to boost system liquidity and intensify demand, reducing the likelihood of under-allotment while also exerting downward pressure on stop rates.
“Given the above, our rate guidance is informed by the need to strike a balance between maximising investment returns and having a successful bid”, Meristem told investors in a note. Zenith Bank Hits 52-Week High, Market Cap Now N4.2trn
