CBN Targets N600 billion in Treasury Bills Auction Today

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is targeting to raise N600 billion through a Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction scheduled for today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in what will be the latest primary market issuance under the apex bank’s Q3 2026 borrowing calendar.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is targeting to raise N600 billion through a Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction scheduled for today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in what will be the latest primary market issuance under the apex bank’s Q3 2026 borrowing calendar.

The planned auction was disclosed in an official tender notice issued by the CBN on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO) and obtained by Nairametrics.

In its Q3 NTB issuance calendar, the CBN, on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), plans to raise a whopping N5.8 trillion across nine issuance schedules in three months, with July having three issuance schedules targeting N2 trillion.

What the data is saying:

According to the CBN’s tender notice, the N600 billion is being offered across three maturities using the Dutch auction system:

• N100 billion in 91-day Treasury Bills
• N100 billion in 182-day Treasury Bills
• N400 billion in 364-day Treasury Bills

All Money Market Dealers are required to submit bids electronically via the CBN S4 Web Interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15, with each bid submitted in multiples of N1,000, subject to a minimum of N50,001,000.

Authorized Money Market Dealers may submit multiple bids, either for their own account or on behalf of non-Money Market Dealers and members of the public.

Auction results are expected to be announced today, Wednesday, July 15, while allotment letters will be issued to successful bidders on Thursday, July 16. Payment must reach the CBN not later than 11:00 a.m. on settlement day. The CBN reserves the right to vary the total amount on offer in line with prevailing market conditions.

More insights:

The July 15 auction follows a busy June in which the CBN raised N1.49 trillion at its June 17 NTB auction, increasing stop rates across all tenors.

At the most recent auction before this issuance, the CBN offered N700 billion across the three tenors.

• Demand came in at N2.03 trillion — higher than the N1.86 trillion recorded at the prior session — though the CBN ultimately allotted N1.06 trillion, a deliberate pullback from the N1.49 trillion allotted at the prior auction.
• Demand was heavily skewed toward the long end of the curve, with the 364-day paper alone attracting N1.86 trillion in subscriptions.
• Stop rates cleared at 16.30% for the 91-day bill, 16.50% for the 182-day, and 17.70% for the 364-day instrument — with the one-year bill recording the sharpest move, widening by 36 basis points relative to the preceding auction.

That repricing reflects a sustained aggressive borrowing stance and investor demand for higher compensation amid persistent inflation concerns.

The offer structure for today’s auction (July 15) is notably different from recent auctions. The 364-day offer has been trimmed to N400 billion from N500 billion previously, accounting for two-thirds of the total offer.

What you should know:

Nigeria’s NTB market has been characterised by consistent oversubscription throughout 2026, with investor demand exceeding offer sizes at every primary market auction so far this year

• At the most recent auction on July 8, the 364-day bill attracted N1.86 trillion in subscriptions against a much smaller offer — an oversubscription ratio that underscores the depth of institutional appetite for long-duration, risk-free naira instruments
• The 364-day stop rate of 17.70% recorded at the prior auction represents the highest on the instrument in recent weeks, driven by bearish fixed income sentiment and rising inflation concerns, with May 2026 headline CPI printing at 15.93%
• Against that inflation rate, the one-year T-bill at 17.70% offers a positive real return of approximately 177 basis points — making it one of the few instruments in Nigeria’s current fixed income landscape that decisively beats inflation on a headline basis

Market participants will be watching closely whether stop rates at today’s auction hold above 17.70% on the 364-day bill, or whether the CBN uses the occasion to ease borrowing costs slightly, depending on the direction of the June inflation outcome expected to be announced today by the NBS.