CBN to issue N1.21trn treasury bills in fourth quarter

The Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) plans to issue a total of N1.21 trillion treasury bills in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 as the same amount will be maturing between September and November, this year.

Africa’s largest economy’s big bank disclosed this in Nigeria’s treasury bills programme calendar released on its website.

The amount to be issued in the last quarter of the year is 6.14 percent higher than N1.14 trillion issued in the second quarter of this year.

A breakdown of the treasury bills programme to be issued in the next three months, which represents the amount that would mature during the same period, consists of a total of N23.98 billion for 91-day tenor, N31.26 billion for 182-day and N1.15 trillion for 364-day tenors.

Read also: The CBN Files: What happened in 2020?

The CBN issues Treasury Bills twice in a month to help the Federal Government fund its budget deficit, support banks in managing liquidity in the system and curb inflation.

Nigeria’s headline inflation accelerated to 24.08 percent in July 2023, from 22.79 percent in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The CBN noted in its monthly economic report for the first quarter of 2023 that activities increased in both the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and the Federal Government of Nigerian (FGN) bond segments due to higher yields and inflation expectations.

At the auctions, NTBs worth N1.28 trillion, N4.89 trillion, and N1.58 trillion were offered, subscribed and allotted, respectively, relative to N972.99 billion, N2.65 trillion, and N852.93 billion in the preceding quarter.

A breakdown showed that longer-term securities (364-day) accounted for N4.52 trillion (92.6 per cent) of the total subscription, revealing investors’ preference for longer-tenorred instruments because of higher yields and inflation expectations.

Similarly, the total amount of FGN bonds offered, subscribed, and allotted at N1.08 trillion, N2.60 trillion and N1.99 trillion was higher, compared with N400.00 billion, N650.47 billion and N516.80 billion, respectively, in the preceding quarter. The bid and marginal rates stood at 14.3 (±3.3) and 15.0 (±1.0) per cent, compared with 16.3 (±2.8) and 15.4 (±0.9) per cent, respectively, in the preceding quarter.