Investors Show Strong Preference for One-Year Treasury Bills in Recent Auction

Investors have shown a strong preference for Nigeria’s one-year Treasury bills during a recent auction held on November 11, 2026. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that investors committed over N1 trillion to these 364-day bills, significantly surpassing the N600 billion that was offered.

In total, investors submitted nearly N1.08 trillion in bids for the one-year bill, which accounted for about 96.2 percent of all bids across three types of Treasury bills. In contrast, the shorter 91-day and 182-day bills attracted much less interest, with bids of only N19 billion and N23 billion, respectively.

The CBN’s auction data showed that total subscriptions reached around N1.12 trillion, with actual allotments totaling N713.31 billion. The one-year Treasury bill received N672.91 billion in allotments, exceeding its initial offer by N72.91 billion. This indicates a strong demand for longer-term investments among investors.

Despite the small differences in interest rates offered, investors chose the one-year bill. The CBN set the interest rate for the 364-day bill at 15.89 percent, which is only slightly higher than the rates for the shorter bills. This suggests that investors are willing to lock their money away for a longer period for a relatively small increase in returns.

This trend of favoring longer-dated Treasury bills has been consistent in recent months. In a previous auction on November 4, investors also favored the one-year bill, which made up about 96 percent of total subscriptions.

For the Federal Government, the strong demand for the one-year bill means they can raise significant funds without greatly increasing borrowing costs. Investors seem to be attracted to the security of a longer investment period, especially when the additional yield is only marginally better than shorter options.