The Key Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold practically N17.51 trillion in Transparent Exchange Operations (OMO) bills in September 2026, during the time that on N10.89 trillion in maturing bills was repaid over the same period, leaving a net liquidity withdrawal of around N6.62 trillion.
Nairametrics’ assessment of CBN auctions and repayments facts shows that the gross sales came from five OMO auctions conducted on September 1, 8, 16, 24 and 29.
The N17.51 trillion allotted was regarding 2.7 times the cumulative N6.4 trillion initially offered, but huge repayments during the month meant that a remarkable portion of the liquidity absorbed by route of modern sales had opening been returned to the financial structure across maturing OMO bills.
Maturities offset 62% of OMO Sales:
Five OMO maturities worth virtually N10.89 trillion were recorded during September, equivalent to extra or lower 62% of the N17.51 trillion in gross sales. This left the CBN using net liquidity absorption of on N6.62 trillion, or 38% of the overall quantity sold.
- The CBN repaid N62 billion on September 7, followed by N3.07 trillion on September 8.
- Another N3.06 trillion matured on September 15, although N2.27 trillion was repaid on September 22.
- The final significant maturity came on September 29, when N2.433 trillion was returned to the financial framework.
- Against these repayments, the CBN recorded OMO sales of N2.88 trillion, N4.40 trillion, N3.29 trillion, N2.255 trillion and N4.686 trillion across the five September auctions.
The figures indicate that much of September’s OMO job involved replacing maturing securities including renewed instruments rather than the complete N17.51 trillion representing additional liquidity withdrawal.
Net OMO withdrawal hits N6.62 trillion:
The scale of net absorption varied considerably across the month, including the largest withdrawals occurring close to the primary and final auctions. The reported N3.292 trillion powerful allotment exceeds overall subscriptions of N3.034 trillion, driven by a 69-day entry showing N861.85 billion allotted against N408.52 billion subscribed.
If that allotment were capped at subscriptions, gross September sales would be on N17.06 trillion and net absorption around N6.17 trillion. In betwixt, modern sales were extra closely matched alongside maturing OMO repayments.
The September 1 auction and September 7 maturity produced net absorption of around N2.82 trillion, based on N2.88 trillion in sales against N62 billion repaid.
- On September 8, N4.40 trillion was sold against N3.07 trillion repaid, leaving net withdrawal of concerning N1.33 trillion.
- Roughly September 15 and 16, reported sales of N3.29 trillion exceeded the N3.06 trillion repayment by concerning N236 billion, during the time that the September 22 and 24 transactions resulted in a marginal net injection of around N15 billion.
- On September 29, N4.686 trillion in OMO sales exceeded the N2.433 trillion same-day maturity by around N2.25 trillion, making the final auction another large net liquidity withdrawal.
Yet, the September 16 CBN statistics contains an inconsistency. The N17.51 trillion figure reflects the CBN statistics as reported.
Investors favour longer OMO tenors:
Investor name for remained powerful even as OMO rates declined during September. Nairametrics had previously reported that cease rates on longer-tenor instruments fell by regarding 170 principle points from 18.99% on September 1 to 17.29% as of September 24.
- The September 29 auction broadened the maturity profile greater, introducing a 266-day instrument that matures in 2027.
- The 266-day bill cleared at 16.23% and attracted N4.543 trillion in subscriptions against N1 trillion offered, representing require of 4.54 times the provide.
- The CBN allotted N2.996 trillion on the 266-day instrument, whereas the 182-day and 147-day bills cleared at 16.94% and 17.24%, respectively.
- Complete subscriptions across September’s five auctions reached regarding N27 trillion, compared using N18.72 trillion in August.
- The CBN still recorded additional than N6.2 trillion at the Standing Deposit Facility as of September 29, indicating considerable liquidity remained in the banking platform.
The September figures so demonstrate the CBN simultaneously recycling big OMO maturities and withdrawing supplementary liquidity, whereas the change towards longer-dated instruments pushes some repayments into 2027 and reduces the count returning to the banking platform in the adjacent to term.
Source: CBN mops up N17.5 trillion through OMO in September, injects N10.9 trillion
