Economy
Details of How to Purchase/Subscribe FGN Savings Bond
By Dipo Olowookere
The FGN savings bond was created by the federal government a few years ago to meet the investment demands of low-income earners in the country.
Before the introduction of the financial asset, Nigerians had the opportunity to invest in treasury bills for as low as N10,000, but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which sells T-bills on behalf the Debt Management Office (DMO), raised the minimum subscription for the bills to N50 million.
This development made nearly it impossible for low-income earners to invest in government securities and the sovereign bonds available also required high minimum subscription to partake in them.
This made the debt office to design the FGN savings bond to attract retail investors, who wish to earn steady revenue by lending money to the government to carry out some critical infrastructure in the country. The minimum subscription for this was pegged at N5,000.
Since its introduction, investors have been embracing the papers and in the first week of every month, the DMO auctions the bonds in two different maturities; 2-year and 3-year.
For the month of December 2020, the offer opened on Monday, December 7 and will close on Friday, December 11.
However, not many people know how to go about purchasing this bond targeted at retail investors with a maximum subscription of N50 million. This is what this article hopes to help readers with.
To buy the FGN savings bond, an investor needs to open a stockbroker’s account and this should be with the notable names. In fact, not all brokerage firms are accredited to sell the notes.
Opening a stockbroker’s account is cheap and can be done for as low as N10,000. You can read about the favourite brokerage companies among Nigerian investors HERE.
After you have opened the account, you are good to go. You just have to request for the FGN savings subscription form, where you will be required to supply some details like your biodata, account details, including the BVN, which is a must for every financial transaction done in Nigeria.
A sample of the subscription form is in this article for guidance.
After all the information is supplied, the next stage is to make payment to the stockbroker’s account and the payment details, proof of payment, sent to the broker for confirmation. This can be done via an email or the chatbox if the company has one.
These are all the things needed to buy the FGN savings bond.
It is important to state that interests paid on the investment vary almost every month. For this month, the DMO is offering the 2-year paper at 1.32 per cent and the 3-year at 1.82 per cent per annum. The interest, which is also called the coupon, is paid four times a year.
On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the federal government will credit the CSCS accounts of subscribers with the volume of bonds bought.
In the event you intend to sell your FGN savings bond before maturity to use the funds for emergencies, there is always an opening for that because the bonds are traded at the secondary market on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Do you require any additional information, please feel free to use the comment box, I will be readily available to respond to your questions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
