By Our Finance Correspondent
Investors subscribed N1.08 trillion to Nigeria’s 364-day Treasury Bills at the November 11, 2026 auction, oversubscribing the N600 billion offer by 79.85 per cent, as demand remained heavily skewed towards the one-year instrument.
The strong appetite for the longest-tenor bill contrasted sharply with weak demand for shorter-dated securities, as the 91-day and 182-day instruments attracted combined subscriptions of just N42.20 billion against their respective N100 billion offers.
According to auction results released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), the 364-day instrument recorded subscriptions of N1.079 trillion, representing 179.85 per cent of its advertised offer.
Total subscriptions across the three maturities stood at approximately N1.12 trillion, while the CBN allotted N713.31 billion out of the N800 billion offered.
The one-year instrument accounted for about 96.2 per cent of total subscriptions, highlighting investors’ strong preference for locking funds into longer-term government securities.
A breakdown of the results showed that the 91-day bill attracted N19.18 billion, representing 19.2 per cent of its N100 billion offer, while the 182-day instrument recorded subscriptions of N23.02 billion, equivalent to 23 per cent of its offer.
The allotment figures further reflected the dominance of the one-year security, with the CBN allotting N672.91 billion, exceeding its advertised offer by N72.91 billion.
The 91-day and 182-day instruments received allotments of N18.12 billion and N22.28 billion, respectively, leaving the 364-day bill with approximately 94.3 per cent of total allotments.
The latest auction reinforces a trend observed in recent Treasury Bills sales, where investors have consistently channelled the bulk of their funds towards the longest available maturity.
At the November 4 auction, the 364-day instrument attracted N1.994 trillion in subscriptions, while the 91-day and 182-day bills recorded N25.01 billion and N25.83 billion, respectively.
During that auction, the CBN maintained stop rates at 15.40 per cent for the 91-day bill, 15.79 per cent for the 182-day instrument and 15.80 per cent for the 364-day security. The one-year bill accounted for approximately 96 per cent of total subscriptions.
At the November 11 auction, the apex bank retained the stop rates for the 91-day and 182-day instruments at 15.40 per cent and 15.79 per cent, respectively, but raised the rate on the 364-day bill by nine basis points to 15.89 per cent from 15.80 per cent.
Despite the adjustment, the yield differential across the three maturities remained relatively narrow.
The 364-day bill offered a premium of just 49 basis points over the 91-day instrument and 10 basis points over the 182-day security, indicating investors’ willingness to commit funds for an additional six to nine months without requiring a significantly higher return.
The November 11 auction followed the DMO’s offer of N800 billion across the three standard Treasury Bills maturities, with the 364-day instrument accounting for 75 per cent of the total offer.
The exercise also came ahead of N148.565 billion in Treasury Bills maturities due on November 12, underscoring the substantially larger amount the government sought to raise through the auction.
However, the CBN’s total allotment of N713.31 billion fell N86.69 billion short of the advertised N800 billion offer.
For investors, the concentration of demand in the one-year instrument reflects the appeal of securing relatively attractive returns over a longer investment horizon, particularly as the yield premium over shorter maturities remains modest.
For the Federal Government, the strong subscription provides an opportunity to mobilise substantial domestic financing. However, the concentration of bids in the longest tenor also underscores investors’ preference for longer-term returns over shorter-term liquidity.
The outcome of the next Treasury Bills auction will provide further insight into whether the strong preference for the 364-day instrument will persist and whether the CBN will maintain its current approach to stop rates and allotments across the three maturities.
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