CBN to sell N700 billion T-Bills September 3 in one of final Q3 auctions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), will offer N700 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury Bills tenors at its first Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction for September 2026.

The notice of an Invitation to Tender for Nigerian Treasury Bills obtained by Nairametrics stated that All Money Market Dealers should submit bids through the CBN S4 Web Interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

The CBN is offering N1.7 trillion in September, and the September 3 offer is one of the three final auctions of Q3 programmes.

It is broken down as N100 billion for the 91-day bill, N100 billion for the 182-day bill, and N500 billion for the 364-day bill.

What the data is saying:

• 91-day bill: N100 billion on offer
• 182-day bill: N100 billion on offer
• 364-day bill: N500 billion on offer
• Total offer: N700 billion
• Each bid must be in multiples of N1,000, subject to a minimum of N50,001,000, with dealers permitted to submit multiple bids on their own account or on behalf of non-Money Market Dealers and members of the public.
• The apex bank reserves the right to reject any bid or vary the amount on offer in line with prevailing market conditions.

The auction result is expected to be announced on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, while allotment letters will be issued on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Payment for successful bids is due to the CBN not later than 11:00 a.m. on the same day.

Get up to speed:

Under the Q3 NTB programme, the Debt Management Office along with the CBN planned to issue N5.8 trillion in Treasury Bills between July and September 2026.

• The programme comprises N900 billion in 91-day, N900 billion in 182-day and N4 trillion in 364-day bills.
• The 364-day bill accounts for about 69% of planned issuance, making it the dominant instrument.
• Treasury Bills worth N2.644 trillion are expected to mature during the quarter.
• After repayment of maturities, the programme implies an estimated net new borrowing of N3.16 trillion.

Under the original programme plans, the apex scheduled major N700 billion auctions for July 8, July 29, August 5, August 12, August 26 and September 2. However, the August 5 auction was cancelled after back-to-back OMO sales had already withdrawn substantial liquidity.

More insights:

• The Q3 programme flagged two liquidity gaps on July 22 and August 19 as Bills worth N378.43 billion matured on July 22 without corresponding new issuance.
• Another N429.23 billion matured on August 19, temporarily releasing liquidity into the banking system.
• The CBN subsequently returned to the market to absorb liquidity through fresh Treasury Bill auctions.
• At the August 12 auction, investors submitted N4.4 trillion against N700 billion offered.
• The 364-day bill attracted N4.19 trillion, while its stop rate rose 24 basis points to 17.59%.

Analysts including Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka, CEO of Wyoming Capital Partners Limited, warned that maintaining elevated interest rates to attract foreign portfolio inflows carries a very high cost to the economy.

Mr. Charles Fakrogha, the CEO of ECL Asset Management Limited, said the Q3 programme reflects deliberate planning to control money supply, inflation and exchange-rate stability.

What you should know:

With August 12 and August 26 combined, the CBN allotted a cumulative N2.218 trillion against a combined N1.4 trillion offer for the month, underscoring how consistently the apex bank has allotted well beyond advertised sizes throughout Q3, particularly on the 364-day tenor.

The August 26 auction saw the CBN cut the one-year stop rate by 44 basis points to 17.15% after jacking up the rate in previous August 12 auction.

Wednesday’s N700 billion offer marks the first of the final two scheduled sessions for September.

Analysts widely expect the CBN to begin cutting rates at its September Monetary Policy Committee meeting, meaning September 3 NTB auction result could offer an early signal of whether the apex bank intends to ease ahead of that decision, or continue prioritising liquidity sterilisation over lower borrowing costs, as it did at the August 12 auction.

With cumulative August allotments already running well above N2.2 trillion against a combined N1.4 trillion offer, September’s opening auction will be closely watched to see whether the CBN maintains its pattern of significant over-allotment as it closes out the N5.8 trillion Q3 programme.