CBN mops up N4.72 trillion via OMO sales in two days as investors chase near-20% yields

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) withdrew a combined N4.72 trillion from the banking system through four Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions conducted between August 26 and 27, 2026, with the shorter tenor paper yielding close to 20%.

However, N4.3 trillion flowed back into the system through primary market repayments over the same two-day window, according to CBN’s financial data obtained by Nairametrics at the close of business on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Across the four auctions, spanning tenors of 96, 97, 132 and 152 days, the CBN offered a combined N2.0 trillion.

What the data is saying:

Total investor subscriptions stood at N8.62 trillion, more than four times the amount on offer, reflecting sustained institutional appetite for CBN paper.

• August 26 — 97-day OMO: N500 billion offered, N783.49 billion subscribed, N613 billion allotted, N113 billion above the advertised offer. Final rate for the 97-day OMO: 19.90%, the highest of the four instruments.
• August 26 — 132-day OMO: N500 billion offered, N3.478 trillion subscribed (6.96x), N2.183 trillion allotted, more than four times the initial offer. Final rate: 19.65%, with successful bids clustering tightly between 19.65% and 19.79%.
• August 27 — 96-day OMO: N500 billion offered, N1.067 trillion subscribed (2.13x), N160.46 billion allotted, just 15.0% of total subscriptions. Final rate: 19.85%.
• August 27 — 152-day OMO: N500 billion offered, N3.294 trillion subscribed (6.59x), N1.768 trillion allotted, the largest single allotment of the four auctions. Final rate: 19.32%, the lowest of the set.

Taken together, the 132-day and 152-day instruments accounted for the bulk of both demand and allotment, together drawing N6.77 trillion in subscriptions and N3.95 trillion in allotments, roughly 84% of the two-day total.

A notable pattern across the four…