Investors pour ₦1.08T into 1-year T-bills, snub shorter tenors at CBN auction
At yesterday's CBN Treasury Bills auction, investors submitted ₦1.079 trillion for the 364-day bill — nearly double the ₦600 billion on offer — while the 91-day and 182-day instruments combined attracted just ₦42.2 billion against their ₦200 billion offer. The one-year bill grabbed 96.2% of total subscriptions, extending a pattern seen in November 4 and September auctions where it consistently pulled ~96% of bids.
Stop rates held at 15.40% (91-day) and 15.79% (182-day), but the 364-day rate ticked up 9 basis points to 15.89%. Despite this, the yield premium for locking money for a full year over three months is only 49 basis points — and just 10 basis points over six months. Investors are clearly choosing duration over yield pickup.
The CBN allotted ₦713.31 billion total, with ₦672.91 billion (94.3%) going to the one-year paper. Notably, the 364-day stop rate now sits 19 basis points above its secondary-market yield, while the shorter bills trade below secondary levels — suggesting primary auction pricing is diverging across the curve.
For anyone with cash to deploy: the market is signaling strong preference for one-year government paper even at slim extra yield. If you're comparing primary auction vs secondary market, the 91-day and 182-day bills currently offer better value on the secondary side. Next auction will show whether this concentration holds or if the CBN adjusts offer sizes to rebalance demand.