The Debt Management Office (DMO) has revealed that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond has received a total subscription of N45.135 billion between its inception in 2017 and 2022.
This was made known on Tuesday by the Director General of DMO, Patience Oniha, at the unveiling and demonstration of the Securities subscription portal at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos.
Oniha said that the FGN savings bond, which was specifically designed to encourage retail investors had done well across the 6 geo-political zones of the country, going by the numbers.
She noted that the FGN Savings Bond is a product that the DMO introduced in March 2017 to enable retail investors to participate in the FGN securities market and promote financial inclusion.
DMO unveils subscription portal
The DMO boss said that the stakeholders meeting was arranged to review the performance of the FGN Savings Bond and to present the portal which it developed in collaboration with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).
- She said, “This explains why the Primary Dealers Market Makers, Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria Exchange Limited, and stockbroking firms have been invited.
- “The DMO believes that the product has more potential than what has been achieved so far, and has, for now, identified two ways to achieve much higher volumes and numbers of investors.’’
DMO’s investor sensitization efforts have become a success
Oniha said that in 2022, the DMO embarked on investor sensitization programmes across a number of cities in Nigeria.
She said, “This strategy proved successful as total subscription almost doubled from N8.396 billion in 2021 to N16.589 billion in 2022.
- “Given this outcome, the DMO plans more of such sensitization, as well as wider publicity.
- “The other strategy is to deploy technology to the process to make the subscription fast, easy and overall, more convenient.’’
She said that the portal had been tested with distribution agents for the FGN Savings Bond, adding that the presentation was to expose it to a wider group of stakeholders.
In a paper presentation, Bose Olafisoye from the DMO said that the FGN Savings Bond was introduced as part of market development initiatives of the office.
For the record
- Recall that on January 2, 2023, the DMO announced 2 Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bonds for subscription as its first bond issuance for 2023.
- DMO in its statement said that one is a two-year FGN Savings Bond due in January 11, 2025, at the interest rate of 9.600 percent per annum.
- The other is a three-year FGN Savings Bond due in January 11, 2026, at the interest rate of 10.600 percent per annum.
The DMO announced January 3 as the opening date, while the closing date would be January 6, and the settlement date January 11, while coupon payment dates would be April 11, July 11, October 11and January 11.
It noted that they are offered at N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50 million.