The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised N1.457 trillion at its June 3 Treasury Bills (NTB) Primary Market Auction (PMA), increasing stop rates across all maturities despite strong investor demand that pushed subscriptions to N2.160 trillion, more than twice the N1 trillion offered.
Official auction results released by the apex bank showed that the 364-day bill attracted the strongest demand, drawing N1.946 trillion in subscriptions against an offer of N800 billion.
Acting on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), the CBN offered N100 billion each in the 91-day and 182-day instruments, and N800 billion in the 364-day tenor. Settlement is scheduled for June 4, 2026, while the bills mature on September 3, December 3, 2026, and June 3, 2027, respectively.
Stop rates rose across all maturities compared with the previous auction. The 91-day bill cleared at 16.05%, up 10 basis points from 15.95%; the 182-day bill settled at 16.19%, 5 basis points higher than the previous 16.14%; while the 364-day bill cleared at 16.35%, an increase of 20.1 basis points from 16.149%.
The auction comes at a time when the Nigerian banking system is preparing for what the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) describes as one of the largest liquidity inflow cycles of 2026. The association projects total inflows of N10.90 trillion in June, including N7.77 trillion from maturing Open Market Operations (OMO) bills.
Against this backdrop, the NTB auction marked the first major liquidity management operation of the month, absorbing N1.457 trillion from a banking system that ended May with N5.89 trillion parked at the CBN’s Standing Deposit Facility (SDF).
Auction performance
Overall auction statistics showed:
- Total offer: N1.0 trillion
- Total subscriptions: N2.160 trillion
- Oversubscription ratio: 2.16 times
- Total allotment: N1.457 trillion
91-Day Bill (September 3, 2026 maturity)
- Offer: N100 billion
- Subscription: N131.18 billion
- Allotment: N131.18 billion
- Bid range: 15.00% – 16.05%
- Previous stop rate: 15.95%
- Current stop rate: 16.05%
182-Day Bill (December 3, 2026 maturity)
- Offer: N100 billion
- Subscription: N83.55 billion
- Allotment: N82.98 billion
- Bid range: 15.50% – 17.00%
- Previous stop rate: 16.14%
- Current stop rate: 16.19%
364-Day Bill (June 3, 2027 maturity)
- Offer: N800 billion
- Subscription: N1.946 trillion
- Allotment: N1.243 trillion
- Bid range: 15.50% – 22.00%
- Previous stop rate: 16.149%
- Current stop rate: 16.35%
The results underscore sustained investor appetite for risk-free government securities, particularly longer-dated instruments, as institutional investors continue to seek attractive yields amid elevated interest rates.
The increase in stop rates aligns with Nigeria’s prevailing monetary policy environment. The CBN retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.50% at its most recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
Although the one-year NTB rate rose to 16.35%, it remains below prevailing OMO yields. At the May 29 OMO auction, stop rates ranged between 20.37% and 21.80%, maintaining the wide yield spread between NTBs and OMO instruments that has characterised the fixed-income market throughout 2026.
Market analysts note that the N1.457 trillion absorbed at the June 3 auction represents only a modest offset to the N10.90 trillion liquidity injection expected this month. With OMO maturities alone projected to release N7.77 trillion into the financial system, the CBN may need to conduct additional liquidity-mopping operations in the coming weeks to contain excess liquidity.
Despite the relatively lower yield compared with OMO bills, the 364-day NTB remains one of the most attractive risk-free investment options available to both retail and institutional investors in the government securities market.
The auction also came against the backdrop of secondary market yields, where average Treasury bill yields closed at 17.42% on June 2, while average bond yields stood at 16.02%.
For investors seeking a one-year investment horizon, the June 3 auction represented one of the strongest pricing sessions of the year, with stop rates rising across all maturities for the second consecutive auction cycle.
