Investors’ appetite remained strong at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) first Treasury bills auction of 2026, with subscriptions rising above N1.5 trillion despite higher stop rates across all tenors. At the primary market auction held last week, the CBN offered a total of N1.15 trillion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors. Total subscriptions came in at N1.54 trillion, slightly higher than the N1.51 trillion recorded at the previous auction, underscoring sustained demand for government securities. The CBN eventually allotted the full N1.15 trillion on offer, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.00x and a subscription-to-offer ratio of 1.34x. Stop rates edged higher at the auction, with the 91-day paper clearing at 15.80 per cent, the 182-day tenor at 16.50 per cent and the 364-day instrument at 18.47 per cent, compared with 15.50 per cent, 15.95 per cent and 17.51 per cent respectively at the previous auction. “Similarly, investor demand remained firm at the first Open Market Operations (OMO) auction of the year, where total subscriptions rose to N2.73 trillion against an offer size of N600 billion. This translated to a subscription-to-offer ratio of 4.55x, reflecting strong demand, particularly for the 210-day instrument which attracted bids of N2.45 trillion. Total allotment stood at N2.71 trillion, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.01x, while stop rates settled at 19.34 per cent for the 161-day tenor and 19.40 per cent for the 210-day paper.”

THISDAY