CBN to auction N800 billion in Treasury Bills today as maturities top N872 billion

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), will offer N800 billion in Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) for auction today, November 4, 2026, as maturing securities exceed N872 billion.

According to an Invitation to Tender obtained by Nairametrics, the offer covers the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day instruments, with the one-year bill accounting for the largest share.

The auction comes amid substantial banking-system liquidity and follows the DMO’s decision to leave most investor bids unallotted at its previous Treasury Bills auction.

Treasury Bills offer trails maturities:

The N800 billion offer comprises N100 billion each for the 91-day and 182-day Treasury Bills and N600 billion for the 364-day instrument.

• The one-year bill therefore accounts for 75% of the total offer, while the auction coincides with N872.546 billion in maturing securities scheduled for settlement today.
• The maturing securities comprise N67.677 billion in 182-day Treasury Bills and N804.869 billion in 364-day bills.
• The advertised offer is N72.546 billion below the amount scheduled to mature today.

Money Market Dealers are required to submit bids through the CBN S4 WEB INTERFACE between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on November 4.

Allotment letters will be issued to successful bidders on November 5, with payment due by 11:00 a.m. that day.

If the entire N800 billion offer is allotted, repayments will exceed fresh issuance by N72.546 billion, leaving a net repayment surplus before other liquidity movements.

However, the final liquidity effect will depend on the amount actually allotted, as the DMO may accept less than the advertised offer.

The auction also comes after substantial OMO maturities, which have contributed to elevated liquidity within the banking system.

October auction left bids unfilled:

The November 4 auction mirrors the October 28 offer, when the CBN advertised N800 billion across the same three Treasury Bills tenors.

• At that auction, investor subscriptions reached N1.908 trillion, equivalent to 2.38 times the advertised amount, but the DMO allotted only N71.16 billion.
• The October 28 allotment represented approximately 8.89% of the advertised N800 billion offer.
• The 364-day bill attracted N1.84 trillion in subscriptions against a N600 billion offer but received only N38.38 billion in allotments.
• Stop rates declined to 15.40% for the 91-day bill, 15.79% for the 182-day bill and 15.80% for the 364-day bill.
• The one-year stop rate declined by 10 basis points from 15.90%, despite investors submitting bids as high as 18.24%.

The October 28 auction was the second consecutive sale in which most investor bids went unfilled.

At the October 14 auction, approximately 74% of bids were not allotted, while the one-year stop rate increased by five basis points to 15.90%.

By comparison, the October 7 auction recorded N968.47 billion in allotments against a N900 billion offer, with the 364-day stop rate at 15.85%.

The latest one-year stop rate of 15.80% also remained below the 16.62% recorded at the September 9 auction.

Banking liquidity supports auction demand:

Banking-system liquidity remained substantial ahead of today’s Treasury Bills auction, providing a potential source of demand for government securities.

• The CBN financial data reported liquidity position exceeding N7.7 trillion at the close of business on November 3, following the settlement of N2.016 trillion in OMO maturities.
• Treasury Bills maturities of N872.546 billion scheduled for repayment today are more than six times the N130.72 billion recorded around the October 28 auction.
• Banking-system liquidity stood at N8.59 trillion ahead of the October 28 auction, supported by approximately N2.13 trillion in OMO maturities.
• At the October 22 OMO auction, the CBN raised N2.63 trillion at stop rates of 17.63% and 17.14%.
• Those OMO stop rates were higher than the Treasury Bills stop rates recorded at the October 28 auction.

The larger volume of maturing Treasury Bills could support reinvestment demand as investors receive repayments and consider new government securities.

However, strong subscriptions do not necessarily translate into equally large allotments, as demonstrated by the October 28 auction.

The DMO’s willingness to limit allotments rather than accept higher borrowing rates has also coincided with declining Treasury Bills stop rates.

Today’s auction result will therefore indicate whether selective allotments continue as substantial maturities return funds to investors.