CBN Sells N598.33 Billion in Treasury Bills, 365-Day Tenor Leads with Massive Demand
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has successfully raised N598.33 billion from Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) in its latest auction, with the 365-day bill emerging as the top pick among investors. This long-term bill alone accounted for 80% of the total sales and subscriptions, signaling strong investor confidence in holding longer-dated government securities.
Out of the total amount sold, the 365-day bill brought in N482.62 billion, showing that most investors preferred locking in their money for a full year due to attractive returns. On the flip side, the 91-day bill attracted the least attention, with subscriptions of N48.4 billion and actual sales of just N38.4 billion.
This auction, held on Wednesday, May 7, pushes the total Treasury bill sales for 2025 to N7.248 trillion so far.
Here’s a breakdown of the auction offer:
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91-day bill: N50 billion
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182-day bill: N100 billion
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365-day bill: N400 billion
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Total offer: N550 billion
Even though total subscriptions dropped to N1.08 trillion from N1.53 trillion in the previous auction, the offering was still oversubscribed, which means there’s still a lot of money flowing in the financial system and strong demand for safe investment options like T-bills.
Because of this steady demand, yields stayed relatively stable:
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365-day yield: edged up slightly to 24.41% (from 24.36%)
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182-day yield: unchanged at 20.38%
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91-day yield: unchanged at 18.85%
This consistency in rates over the past four auctions suggests a stable interest rate environment, even as investor interest shifts slightly between maturities.
As of May 6, 2025, liquidity in the financial system stood at N1.21 trillion. When combined with N287.98 billion in maturing T-bills, total available funds were more than three times the amount the CBN offered in this latest auction — another sign of strong investor appetite for government-backed securities in a high-liquidity market.
