CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced its allotment of Treasury Bills at the March 18 Primary Market Auction, allocating N691.86 billion of the N1.05 trillion offered.
Despite strong investor interest, the central bank adopted a cautious approach to manage borrowing costs.
Subscriptions surged to N3.06 trillion, driven largely by the 364-day bills, which attracted N2.89 trillion in demand against an offer of N800 billion, with N542.64 billion allotted.
The 91-day bill recorded N102.19 billion in subscriptions with N101.29 billion allotted, while the 182-day bill underperformed, attracting N66.99 billion against N150 billion offered, and N47.94 billion allotted.
Stop rates moderated across tenors: 91-day bills held at 15.95%, 182-day bills eased to 16.62% from 16.65%, and 364-day bills declined to 16.63% from 16.73%.
The Dutch auction conducted via the CBN’s Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) facilitated transparent price discovery.
