By Anastasia John E.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has successfully mopped up a substantial N804.85 billion from the financial system through its latest Open Market Operations (OMO) auction, OBSERVERS TIMES can authoritatively report. The strong investor appetite for these short-term debt instruments was evident in the significant oversubscription recorded during the exercise held on Monday, April 29, 2025.
Sources familiar with the auction proceedings confirmed to OBSERVERS TIMES that the CBN’s OMO offering witnessed a remarkable 111 percent oversubscription.
Against the N500 billion offered by the apex bank, total subscriptions surged to a robust N1.057 trillion, underscoring the continued confidence of market participants in these securities.
However, OBSERVERS TIMES analysis indicates that while demand remained strong, it slightly trailed the figures from the previous OMO auction conducted on April 25, 2025. In that earlier exercise, the CBN had offered two tranches of N500 billion OMO bills and attracted an even higher N1.391 trillion in subscriptions, ultimately allotting N1.008 trillion.
A detailed breakdown of the latest auction, as obtained by OBSERVERS TIMES, reveals the CBN’s focus on longer-tenor instruments. The apex bank offered two such bills: a 329-day bill and a 350-day bill, each with an offer size of N250 billion.
The 350-day OMO bill, set to mature on April 14, 2026, proved particularly attractive to investors, garnering a massive N923.60 billion in subscriptions. The CBN eventually allotted N698.60 billion of this instrument at a stop rate of 22.73 percent. Bid rates for this tenor ranged from a low of 22.4990 percent to a high of 22.9700 percent.
Conversely, the 329-day OMO bill, maturing on March 24, 2026, experienced comparatively weaker investor interest, OBSERVERS TIMES notes. This instrument attracted a total subscription of N133.25 billion, representing just 53 percent of the N250 billion offered by the central bank. The CBN allotted N106.25 billion of this shorter-tenor bill at a slightly lower stop rate of 22.69 percent, with bid rates ranging between 22.3200 percent and 22.8900 percent.
This latest OMO auction, as reported by OBSERVERS TIMES, highlights the CBN’s ongoing efforts to manage liquidity within the financial system and influence interest rates. The significant level of oversubscription, despite a slight dip from the previous auction, suggests sustained investor interest in CBN’s debt offerings.
