CBN injects N5.21 trillion in one week ahead of N700 billion NTB auction today

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected a total of N5.21 trillion into the banking system over the course of the past week, with the largest single-day infusion being N2.48 trillion in Open Market Operations (OMO) repayments on August 11. This significant liquidity injection occurred just a day before the primary market auction, where the CBN aims to raise N700 billion in Treasury Bills on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The N5.21 trillion in repayments between August 4 and 11 indicates the sheer volume of OMO and Treasury Bills maturities flowing back into the system, as the CBN resumes Treasury Bills issuance today. Analysts at Cordros Securities had anticipated around N1.58 trillion in OMO Bills maturing during the week, although the actual repayment of N2.48 trillion on August 11 surpassed their estimate.

The CBN is anticipated to launch a N700 billion Nigerian Treasury Bills auction today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, following a cancellation of a similar-sized offering the previous month. The July 8 auction saw the CBN allocate N1.06 trillion, resulting in a sharp increase of the one-year stop rate to 17.70% from 17.34% previously.

Additionally, the 182-day tranche remained the weakest performer, garnering only N29.94 billion subscriptions against a N100 billion issuance. The recent intensification of the CBN's liquidity management operations, including aggressive OMO sales, resulted in the absorption of N7.18 trillion from the banking system, potentially influencing whether the elevated liquidity drives yields lower or remains absorbed by the persistent institutional demand for one-year paper.