Nigeria’s Treasury bills market recorded N4.28 trillion in subscriptions at the Wednesday, February 18, 2026, auction, more than triple the N1.15 trillion offered.
The auction results released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show that demand was overwhelmingly concentrated on the 364-day instrument, reflecting investor preference for locking in longer-term sovereign yields amid expectations of rate moderation.
Despite the heavy demand, total allotments came in at N1.91 trillion, highlighting selective acceptance by monetary authorities as part of ongoing yield management.
What the data is saying
Nigeria’s Treasury bills auction revealed extremely strong system liquidity, with total subscriptions of N4.28 trillion far exceeding the N1.15 trillion on offer.
Investors’ appetite was overwhelmingly concentrated in the 364-day instrument, suggesting investor preference for longer-term instruments to lock in yield.
- Total subscriptions stood at N4.28 trillion across all tenors, representing an oversubscription of about 3.7 times the offer.
- Total allotment amounted to N1.91 trillion, indicating selective acceptance despite heavy demand.
- The 364-day bill alone attracted N4.07 trillion in subscriptions, accounting for roughly 95 per cent of total demand.
- The 91-day and 182-day instruments recorded subscriptions of N112.01 billion and N93.75 billion respectively, both below their offers.
The 91-day bill, which had an offer size of N150 billion, was under-subscribed at N112.01 billion, with N105.05 billion allotted at a stop rate of 15.80%.
Similarly, the 182-day bill recorded N93.75 billion in subscriptions against a N200 billion offer, with N93.41 billion allotted at a stop rate of 16.65%.
By contrast, the 364-day bill, offered at N800 billion, saw an overwhelming demand of N4.07 trillion. The monetary authorities allotted N1.71 trillion at a stop rate of 15.90%.
More insights
Investors concentrated bids on the 364-day bill despite signs of yield moderation, reflecting appetite for longer-duration instruments.
The 364-day paper cleared at 15.90%, marginally above the 91-day stop rate of 15.80% but below the 182-day rate of 16.65%.
- The yield configuration suggests investors were willing to accept slightly lower returns on longer maturity in exchange for reinvestment certainty.
What you should know
Nigeria’s latest NTB auction reflects continued excess liquidity in the fixed-income market, with demand hitting N4.28 trillion against an offer of N1.15 trillion. This marks another strong outing for government securities in February.
- A February 4 NTB auction recorded N4.59 trillion in subscriptions against the same N1.15 trillion offer.
- The 364-day tenor similarly captured the bulk of bids in that auction.
- Selective allotments enabled authorities to moderate long-term stop rates.
- Investors continue to prefer longer-dated bills amid expectations of medium-term rate moderation.
The trend reinforces Treasury bills’ role as a core asset class for institutional portfolios, particularly as money market alternatives offer comparatively lower yields and as investors position for potential shifts in monetary policy direction.
