The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allocated a total of ₦1.7 trillion in Open Market Operation (OMO) bills to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and deposit money banks (DMBs) following two auctions conducted this week.
The dual auctions come as system liquidity remained elevated, averaging around ₦3 trillion in net surplus. Analysts attributed the surplus to significant inflows from maturing OMO bills worth ₦1.5 trillion during the week, according to updates from investment firms.
The first OMO auction, held on 4 November 2025, saw the apex bank offer ₦600 billion across two short-term maturities. The CBN floated ₦300 billion each for 56-day and 84-day tenors. The longer 84-day bill attracted robust demand, with subscriptions totalling ₦1.11 trillion—over three times oversubscribed—while the shorter 56-day paper received ₦68 billion in bids.
Stop rates were set at 21.69% for the 56-day bills and 21.84% for the 84-day maturities, remaining within a tight bid range. The CBN allotted ₦30 billion and ₦243.6 billion respectively, aligning with its liquidity management objectives.
A subsequent OMO auction was also held on Friday, according to CardinalStone Securities Limited. Afrinvest Securities Limited confirmed that the apex bank sold ₦1.7 trillion worth of OMO bills across the two auctions (against an initial offer of ₦1.2 trillion), at clearing rates between 21.6% and 21.8%. Total subscriptions reached ₦2.5 trillion, representing a bid-to-offer ratio of 2.1 times.
In a related development, the CBN also offered ₦650 billion in Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) across standard tenors for subscription. The breakdown showed ₦100 billion offered for the 91-day tenor, another ₦100 billion for the 182-day paper, and ₦450 billion for the 364-day maturity.
Investor interest was particularly strong for the longer-term bills, with an average overall bid-to-offer ratio of 1.8 times, up from 1.2 times at the previous auction. Demand was heavily skewed towards the 364-day papers, which recorded a bid-to-offer ratio of 2.5 times, while the shorter tenors saw weaker participation at 0.3 times and 0.1 times, respectively.
The CBN ultimately sold ₦31.2 billion of the 91-day bills, ₦10.2 billion of the 182-day paper, and ₦504.9 billion of the 364-day bills. Stop rates for the shorter tenors remained unchanged at 15.3% and 15.5%, while the 364-day bill rate eased slightly by 10 basis points to 16.0%.
Overall, the central bank absorbed 46.4% of total subscriptions and 84% of the total amount offered across all tenors, reinforcing its tight monetary stance amid sustained liquidity inflows.
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