CBN to Offer N800bn Treasury Bills as Banks' SDF Placements Hit N6.98tn

The Central Bank of Nigeria will offer N800 billion in Nigerian Treasury Bills on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, on behalf of the Debt Management Office. The auction comes as banks' placements at the CBN's Standing Deposit Facility reached N6.98 trillion on Tuesday, October 27.

The CBN's invitation to tender and Financial Markets Dealers Association liquidity data project N2.813 trillion in inflows into the financial system this week. The inflows follow the settlement of N2.132 trillion in Open Market Operation maturities and N53.493 billion in primary market maturities on Tuesday.

Liquidity Inflows Reach N2.813tn

OMO maturities are expected to contribute N2.408 trillion, about 85.6% of the projected N2.813 trillion weekly inflows. Federal Government bond coupon payments will provide N263.58 billion. Treasury Bills maturities will add N130.72 billion, while corporate bond coupon payments contribute N10.92 billion.

The projected inflow is slightly below the previous week's N2.858 trillion. FMDA said no Federation Account Allocation Committee distribution is recorded for this week, compared with N2.43 trillion previously. OMO maturities are N341 billion higher than the N2.067 trillion recorded in the preceding week.

System liquidity rose 10.39% week on week to N6.936 trillion in the week ended October 23, before the additional inflows expected this week.

One-Year Bill Dominates CBN Offer

The N800 billion offer comprises N100 billion in 91-day bills, N100 billion in 182-day bills and N600 billion in 364-day bills. The tenors represent 12.5%, 12.5% and 75% of the total offer. The securities will be issued through a Dutch auction.

The October 28 auction coincides with N130.72 billion in maturing Treasury Bills, with settlement scheduled for October 29. The N800 billion advertised offer exceeds the scheduled Treasury Bills maturity by about N669.28 billion. If the DMO allots the full amount, the auction would absorb N669.28 billion more than the funds released through the Treasury Bills maturity alone.

The 364-day Treasury Bill accounts for N600 billion, or 75%, of the offer. Demand for one-year bills has remained strong even as stop rates declined. At the October 7 auction, the DMO allotted N968.47 billion against an advertised offer of N900 billion. The 364-day stop rate declined to 15.85%. Investors submitted N1.683 trillion in bids for the one-year bill at that auction.

At the October 14 NTB auctions, the DMO rejected about 74% of N1.032 trillion total subscriptions and accepted only N269.06 billion.

What It Means For Markets

The actual impact on banking-system liquidity will depend on investor subscriptions, final allotments and reinvestment of proceeds from maturing instruments. The CBN's OMO operations could also absorb part of the liquidity returning to the financial system. The auction will test whether strong demand for government securities continues amid elevated banking-system liquidity and substantial expected maturities. Strong demand could give the DMO room to lower stop rates further, while additional liquidity withdrawals or higher investor yield expectations could limit downward pressure on rates.