Fixed Deposit
A Fixed Deposit is a type of short-term financial investments sold by banks to its depositors. A depositor invests in a fixed deposit when he deposits his money with a bank in exchange for interest for a predetermined period. Fixed deposits can often be for One Month, Three Months, 6 Months and 1 year. In return for fixing your money with the bank for a fixed period, the interest paid on fixed deposits is always higher than the interest that the bank pays on a regular deposit. Fixed deposits have the following characteristics;
- They are for a fixed period of time
- They are mostly sold by banks
- The interest rate is higher than other regular deposit rates
- The interest paid to the depositor is subject to 10% withholding tax
- The depositor can decide to call back his cash ahead of the maturity date for the fixed deposit
- However, this can come at a cost to the depositor
- Interest rates on fixed deposits vary from bank to bank, from customer to customer and from amount to amount
- The bank makes money by lending out the money you placed in the fixed deposit at a higher rate to borrowers. The difference between the interest it pays you on the fixed deposit and the interest its lenders pay is the banks profit.
- Fixed deposits are sold daily by the bank to its willing customers
- The banks pays the depositor both the principal and interest upon maturity. However, a customer can request for a roll-over
- Fixed deposits are secured as long as the bank remains solvent.
- If the bank goes bust, you loose your money too.
- Fixed deposit can be used as a collateral but not accepted by all banks
[Read Also: 9 TIPS to KNOW when NOT to INVEST]
Treasury Bills
Treasury Bills on the other hand is also a short term financial investment but sold by the Central Bank of Nigeria. An investor in treasury bills lends money to the CBN for a stipulated period in exchange for interest. Treasury bills are usually for a period of 91days, 182 days and 364 days. Treasury Bills have the following Characteristics
- Treasury Bills are sold bi-weekly or as determined by the CBN
- The CBN puts a limit to the amount of treasury bills it wishes to sell
- The CBN uses the funds from Treasury Bills to control money supply in the economy
- Interest rates for treasury bills are determined by an auction and can vary from investor to investor, amount to amount and tenor to tenor
- Interest on treasury bills are paid upfront
- The CBN pays an investor in treasury bills upon maturity and does not roll-over
- Treasury Bills can only be bought or resold at the Over The Counter Market (OTC)
- An investor who can’t wait till maturity to cash out on the treasury bill can sell his investment at the OTC market
- Treasury Bills are tax free
- Treasury Bills is not secured by any asset but are backed by the full faith and credit of the Nigerian Government
- Treasury bills can be used as a collateral and is accepted by all banks
[Read Also: CBN says commercial banks can invest in Treasury Bills for now]
This article was originally published by Nairametrics on 5th February, 2014
i thinking our banks are short changing us, becos i hav fixed deposit UBA @8per cent p.a. Ugodre where can i get the TB Please advise
Go to ur bank
Please can you let us know what happens if I buy treasury bill through a bank and suddenly, the Bank ceases to exist, how do I get back my money bearing in mind, that I must have invested the money through my bank account of the failed bank. Thanks
Which of this two is better in terms of investing I really need an answer
If it is the kind of money ,you do not really need now,treasury bills is better and safer.
It depends on what you are looking at, but T-Bills is a better idea.
Please tell me more about treasury bill – how does one invest in it, minimum investment, interest rate?
Hi,
Kindly read this https://nairametrics.com/2019/09/03/what-is-treasury-bills-in-nigeria/
it totally depends on the rate of interest the bank is giving you. but typically fixed deposit interest rates are higher. if you need to settle an urgent you might consider treasury bills because they pay upfront but over a period of one year FIXED DEPOSIT is way better
Ayodeji
If minimum months of investing in
Treasury bill how then could my bank solo tb for two months.?
Thanks for this information. Can there be a post of mutual funds??
I have tried the two( T bill & fixed deposit) the problem is that the interest rate has dropped drastically this days. T.B used to be as high as 13 % before, but now the last one l did was 9. something %. Pls is it possible for my bank to play pranks on all of these.
Can a treasury bill proof of investment serve as a loan collateral?
This country is a mess, CBN-NIGERIA Stop individual…to participated in T Bills.But why.
This was insightful as well as informative. Now it gets easier to know that one can either place his principal in TBs or Fixed deposits.
Both have their ups and downs, so it really is dependent on what U wish for, but if U wish to get Ur cash upfront and avoid Withholding taxes then TB might be for u.
Please can you also give information on government bonds: tenor, rates, principal and minimum investment requirements.