The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has conducted its Treasury Bills Primary Market Auction for Tuesday, May 20, 2026, allotting a total of N829.32 billion across the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day maturities.
According to auction results, total subscriptions reached about N1.99 trillion, significantly higher than the N650 billion offered, reflecting strong investor demand for government securities.
The 364-day instrument recorded the highest interest, attracting N1.84 trillion in subscriptions against an offer of N500 billion. The CBN ultimately allotted N683.29 billion, highlighting strong demand for long-term, high-yield instruments.
The 182-day bill also saw healthy participation, with subscriptions of N81.04 billion compared to an offer of N50 billion, while allotment stood at N78.59 billion.
In contrast, the 91-day bill recorded weaker demand, with subscriptions of N68.63 billion against an offer of N100 billion, making it the only tenor that underperformed its offer size. It eventually received N67.45 billion in allotments.
Overall, the results show a clear investor preference for longer-dated securities as market participants seek to lock in attractive yields amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Stop rates across all maturities remained largely stable, indicating balanced liquidity conditions and the CBN’s steady stance on interest rate movements.
The 91-day bill rose marginally to 15.95%, the 182-day bill remained unchanged at 16.14%, while the 364-day bill slightly eased to 16.149%.
The relatively low demand for short-term bills suggests investors are less interested in shorter maturities at current yield levels, preferring longer-term returns instead.
This auction follows a similar trend observed in earlier issuances, where demand consistently exceeded supply, particularly for the 364-day tenor, which continues to dominate subscriptions.
Recent auctions in May and April 2026 also recorded heavy oversubscription, reinforcing strong appetite for risk-free government instruments among investors.
Analysts suggest this sustained demand reflects expectations that yields may gradually decline in the future, encouraging investors to lock in current returns while they remain attractive.
