The Central Bank of Nigeria, on behalf of the Debt Management Office, held a N700 billion Nigerian Treasury Bills auction on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, offering bills with tenors of 91, 182, and 364 days. The auction followed the cancellation of a similar sale scheduled for Aug. 5 amid tightening liquidity conditions, with officials seeking to manage funds available in the banking system.
The auction was heavily oversubscribed, with investors submitting bids totaling about N4.4 trillion against the N700 billion offered, according to a market report dated Aug. 13, 2026. The bank also increased the allotment on the 364-day tenor to N1.26 trillion, exceeding the initial offer of N500 billion, while the 91-day and 182-day bills cleared at rates of 16.30% and 16.50%, respectively, records show.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the stop rate on the 364-day Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) to 17.59%, reversing a previous decline seen in the July 29 auction, sources confirmed.
The auction followed the cancellation of a similar N700 billion sale scheduled for Aug. 5, 2026, which officials linked to tightening liquidity conditions in the banking system. Reports from Aug. 1 to Aug. 5 indicated that the CBN absorbed approximately N4.69 trillion through Open Market Operations (OMO) in two consecutive sessions. On Aug. 3, the bank withdrew N2.52 trillion via a 141-day OMO bill, and on Aug. 4, it mopped up an additional N2.17 trillion through 112-day and 113-day OMO bills, according to market sources. These operations contributed to a liquidity squeeze that led to the cancellation of the initial auction, officials said.
Despite the liquidity tightening, the CBN injected N5.21 trillion into the banking system ahead of the Aug. 12 auction, according to reports from Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. This liquidity injection was seen as a move to balance the funds available in the system with the renewed Treasury Bills sale. Bids for the auction were submitted electronically through the CBN’s S4 Web Interface between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Aug. 12, with settlement scheduled for Aug. 13, 2026, according to the auction circular.
The N700 billion offer was divided into N100 billion for the 91-day tenor, N100 billion for the 182-day tenor, and N500 billion for the 364-day tenor, as part of the CBN and Debt Management Office’s (DMO) broader Q3 2026 Treasury Bills issuance programme. This programme, which was reported in July 2026, planned for a total issuance of N5.8 trillion in Treasury Bills during the third quarter, making it one of the largest mop-up efforts of the year, according to Debt Management Office records. The programme included major auction dates on July 8, July 29, Aug. 5, Aug. 12, Aug. 26, and Sept. 2, 2026, with temporary gaps on July 22 and Aug. 19 to accommodate maturing securities expected to inject liquidity before subsequent auctions absorbed it.
Market commentary and official sources indicated that the CBN’s series of Treasury Bills sales and OMO operations were designed to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and keep interest rates elevated. The tightening liquidity environment was also linked to sterilisation efforts and Treasury Bills debits in the money market, which supported broader exchange-rate stability, according to financial analysts and central bank officials. The timing of the Aug. 12 auction suggested a deliberate attempt to balance liquidity withdrawal with market absorption capacity, sources said.
The cancellation of the Aug. 5 auction and the rescheduled sale on Aug. 12 underscored the challenges faced by the CBN in managing liquidity amid competing pressures. The planned issuance for the quarter was set to exceed maturing securities by about N3.16 trillion, reflecting an ongoing effort to reduce excess funds in the banking system. The latest auction results and the broader issuance programme are expected to influence liquidity conditions and interest rate dynamics in the coming months, according to market observers.
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