Economy

CBN Sells 363bn OMO Bills Thursday, Cuts Stop Rates

Published

7 years ago

01/11/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned its liquidity control tool to investors on Thursday via an Open Market Operations (OMO). The exercise was mainly for foreign portfolio investors.

During the sale of the OMO bills, the apex bank offered for sale the debt instrument worth N330 billion in three different maturities; 96 days, 187 days and 362 days.

Business Post reports that the central bank auctioned N50 billion worth of the 96-day bill, another N50 billion worth of the 187-day tenor and N230 billion worth of the 362-day bill.

However, the bank had subscriptions valued at N447.09 billion across the three tenors, while N363.09 billion was allotted at the close of the exercise, with the stop rates for the mid and long tenors slightly slashed by the apex bank, while the stop rate for the short-dated maturity was left intact.

Results of the OMO sale showed that the central bank received bids worth N16.50 billion for the 96-day instrument. This same amount was allotted to traders at 11.55 percent.

For the 187-day tenor, the bank got subscriptions valued at N11.50 billion, but only N10.50 billion was sold at 11.75 percent, lower than 11.79 percent of the previous OMO auction.

For the 362-day bill, the central bank received offers worth N419.09 billion from subscribers yesterday, but N336.09 billion worth of the instrument was allotted to investors at stop rate of 11.32 percent, lower than the 11.34 percent at the October 24 exercise.

Meanwhile, at the secondary market for treasury bills on Thursday, the market came under a buy pressure, which consequently pushed the average yields lower as a result of the decline posted by the benchmark maturities.

The six-month instrument was the most pressured as its yield went down by 0.50 percent to settle at 11.90 percent against the previous day’s 12.40 percent. The three-month tenor followed as its yield went down by 0.31 percent to 11.72 percent from 12.03 percent. Yield on the one-year bill depreciated by 0.21 percent to 14.72 percent from 12.93 percent, while yield on the three-month instrument fell by 0.03 percent to 11.48 percent from 11.51 percent.

At the close of business, the average yields of the four bills went down by 0.26 percent to finish at 12.46 percent.

Meanwhile, activities at the money market yesterday were upbeat as the average rates increased by 1.75 percent to close at 5.00 percent. This came on the back of the 1.86 percent rise posted by the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate and the 1.64 percent growth recorded by the Overnight (OVN) rate.

At the close of transactions, the OBB rate increased to 4.64 percent from 2.79 percent, while the OVN rate appreciated to 5.36 percent from 3.71 percent.

It was observed that the rates still closed in the single-digit region despite a robust system liquidity in the interbank market, which was at N500 billion positive as the apex bank mopped up N3623 billion from the market via an OMO sale.

Economy

NRS Launches Unified Tax ID System

Published

4 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.

The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.

According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.

The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.

“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.

The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.

According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.

“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.

The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.

Economy

OTC Securities Exchange Falls 1.31% as Key Stocks Decline

Published

6 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.

This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.

Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.

The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.

During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

FX Pressure Pushes Naira Lower to N1,373/$1 at Official Market

Published

7 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.

In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.

In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.

Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.

The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.

Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.

Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.

The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.

Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.

On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.