The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) withdrew ₦4.72 trillion from the banking system through four Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions held on August 26 and 27, 2026, as investors submitted a total of ₦8.62 trillion in bids for securities offering yields close to 20%.
According to CBN government-securities data, the four auctions covered 96-day, 97-day, 132-day, and 152-day instruments, with a combined ₦2 trillion initially offered across the tenors.
Data from the CBN auction results, as reported by Nairametrics, shows that at the August 26, 2026 session, the 97-day OMO bill attracted ₦783.49 billion in subscriptions against a ₦500 billion offering. The CBN allotted ₦613 billion at a marginal rate of 19.90%. On the same day, the 132-day instrument drew ₦3.478 trillion in bids against ₦500 billion offered, with the central bank allotting ₦2.183 trillion at a marginal rate of 19.65%.
The Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) separately confirmed that the August 26, 2026 auction garnered ₦4.26 trillion in total subscriptions against ₦1 trillion offered, with total allotment reaching ₦2.80 trillion. It noted that stop rates moderated to 19.90% and 19.65%, respectively.
Demand persisted into the August 27, 2026 auction. The 96-day bill attracted ₦1.067 trillion in subscriptions and cleared at a 19.85% marginal rate, with the CBN allotting only ₦160.46 billion of the ₦500 billion offered despite the strong demand. Meanwhile, the 152-day instrument received ₦3.294 trillion in bids and cleared at 19.32%.
The longer-dated 132-day and 152-day instruments jointly accounted for ₦6.77 trillion, or roughly 78.5%, of the ₦8.62 trillion total subscriptions. Nairametrics also reported that these two instruments accounted for ₦3.95 trillion, or approximately 84%, of the total ₦4.72 trillion absorbed across all four auctions.
The heavy OMO sales coincided with substantial funds entering the banking system through maturing government securities. Nairametrics, citing CBN financial data, reported that primary-market maturities totalled ₦4.302 trillion across August 26 and 27, 2026. However, the CBN also conducted a Treasury Bills primary auction on August 26, 2026, which absorbed ₦762.89 billion from the system. This left a net primary-market liquidity injection of ₦3.539 trillion. When set against the ₦4.724 trillion absorbed via the concurrent OMO auctions, this translates to an estimated net liquidity withdrawal of approximately ₦1.185 trillion over the two-day period.
Despite this net drain, banking system liquidity remained buoyant. Nairametrics reported that the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) balance stood at ₦3.42 trillion as of August 28, 2026, underscoring that substantial excess reserves persisted within the financial system.
The FMDA said the moderation of OMO stop rates below 20% reflected improved liquidity conditions and stronger market participation, following the recent expansion of access to OMO securities. It also noted that future yield movements would depend on prevailing liquidity conditions and the pace of further CBN OMO operations.
Overall, the latest auctions underline the continued strength of investor demand for high-yielding naira fixed-income assets, while demonstrating that the CBN remains actively engaged in managing excess system liquidity through the OMO market.
