Investors submitted bids worth N4.93 trillion at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest Open Market Operations auction, more than eight times the N600 billion offered across two short-term instruments.
The auction, conducted on Thursday, August 13, 2026, covered 103-day and 138-day OMO bills. Despite the huge demand, the CBN allotted N2.60 trillion—more than four times the amount initially put up for sale.
Longer-tenor bill attracts strongest demand
The 103-day bill, scheduled to mature on November 24, 2026, received N1.268 trillion in subscriptions against an offer of N300 billion.
The apex bank allotted N450 billion at bid rates ranging from 19.90% to 20.46%. The stop rate—the rate at which successful bids were accepted—stood at 20.39%.
Demand was even stronger for the 138-day bill, which matures on December 29, 2026. Investors submitted N3.658 trillion in bids, representing more than 12 times the N300 billion offered.
The CBN eventually allotted N2.154 trillion at bid rates between 19.79% and 20.10%. The instrument cleared at a stop rate of 20.01%, equivalent to a true yield of 21.66%.
OMO yields remain highly attractive
The auction results underline the continued preference for OMO bills among fixed-income investors, particularly amid the elevated interest-rate environment.
Compared with recent Treasury Bill yields, the OMO instruments offered significantly higher returns. The 103-day OMO bill’s 20.39% stop rate was about 409 basis points above the 16.30% stop rate on the comparable 91-day Treasury Bill.
Similarly, the 138-day OMO bill offered a yield advantage of roughly 351 basis points over the 182-day Treasury Bill, which had a stop rate of 16.50%.
Retail investors add to demand
The widening access to OMO bills is also contributing to the strong subscription levels. The instruments are now available to individual investors and other eligible participants through commercial banks, rather than being limited largely to institutional money-market dealers.
Analysts expect the high OMO yields to gradually influence bank deposit rates as lenders compete to retain funds that could otherwise move into the CBN’s sterilisation instruments.
The development could also narrow the yield gap between OMO bills and Treasury Bills over time.
CBN continues liquidity management
The latest auction came shortly after the CBN injected a net N5.21 trillion into the banking system, including the repayment of N2.48 trillion in OMO bills on August 11.
The apex bank had earlier mopped up N4.69 trillion through auctions conducted on August 3 and 4, while more than N7 trillion was absorbed through OMO operations in July.
The sustained demand, despite the scale of recent liquidity withdrawals, suggests that financial-system liquidity remains sufficiently strong to support heavy participation in the CBN’s auctions.
With OMO stop rates now around 20%, the instruments continue to rank among the most attractive low-risk investment options available to Nigerian investors.
