CBN’s N225.45 billion treasury bills auction records oversubscription

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Treasury Bills Auction that held last Wednesday was oversubscribed in spite of the low rates.

The CBN recorded N417.64 billion during the auction. T-bills worth N225.45 billion were provided across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors at the primary auction.

The apex bank had offered N5.85 billion for the 91-day tenor and recorded a total subscription of N46.35 billion, making it an oversubscription of N52.20 billion. The 182-day tenor did great also as the N26.60 billion offered was over-subscribed by N61.32 billion, receiving a total subscription of N49.68 billion.

Meanwhile, the highest subscription among the treasury bills was the 364-day tenor, which experienced a total subscription of N227.51 billion from an offering of N193 billion. That means it was oversubscribed by N84.513 billion.

The treasury bills were auctioned in a Dutch auction, which is a public offering auction structure, where the price of the offering is set after taking in all bids to determine the highest price at which the total offering can be sold. Investors place a bid for the amount they are willing to buy in terms of quantity and price.

The following were reportedly the successful bid rates, with 90-day tenor doing 2.7400 and 6.0000 for the 91-day tenor; 3.0000 and 6.0000 for the 182-day tenor; 4.0000 and 14.4990 for the 364-day tenor. The Central bank’s stop rates stood at 2.95, 3.95 and 5.09 for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors.

The CBN reserved the right to reject bids and the allotment letters and payment for successful bids were reportedly issued last Thursday. The apex banks had processed all money market dealers’ bids through the CBN s4 web interface as at 11 am on Wednesday.

However, in spite of fall rates, the rates are still higher than the rates found in developed markets, which might suggest the presence of foreign portfolio holders leading to an oversubscription.