Investor appetite at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) November 11, 2026, treasury bills auction remained overwhelmingly concentrated in the one-year instrument, with bids for the 364-day bill reaching N1.08 trillion representing 179.85% of the N600 billion offered.
Conducted on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), the auction highlighted a pronounced investor preference for longer-dated securities, even as shorter and medium-term tenors struggled for traction amid relatively narrow yield differences across maturities.
The 364-day instrument dominated the auction, accounting for approximately 96.2% of total subscriptions.
In contrast, shorter instruments lagged significantly: the 91-day bill attracted just N19.18 billion against its N600 billion equivalent offer structure (failing to meet its individual N100 billion target), while the 182-day instrument received N23.02 billion out of its N100 billion allocation.
Across all three tenors, total subscriptions reached approximately N1.12 trillion against an advertised offer of N800 billion. Ultimately, the CBN allotted N713.31 billion, with the one-year bill capturing N672.91 billion surpassing its original offer by N72.91 billion and commanding roughly 94.3% of total allotments.
This heavy tilt toward the one-year security extends a consistent pattern observed in recent primary market auctions, where investors have continually bypassed shorter maturities.
Analysts note that this behavior persisted despite narrow yield spreads. At the November 11 auction, the CBN maintained stop rates at 15.40% for the 91-day bill and 15.79% for the 182-day bill, while the 364-day stop rate edged up by nine basis points to 15.89%.
Consequently, the one-year instrument offered only a 49-basis-point premium over the 91-day bill and a mere 10-basis-point margin over the 182-day security, demonstrating that market participants were willing to lock in funds for an extra six to nine months without demanding a steep yield premium.
For the federal government, the high concentration of demand in the longer-term instrument provides a stable channel for securing substantial financing without abruptly driving up borrowing costs across the yield curve.
As the market looks ahead to subsequent auctions, primary stakeholders will monitor whether the CBN maintains its current allotment strategy and if investor preference for the one-year bill remains unshaken.
