Liquidity surplus pushes banks’ CBN deposits to N6.28tn

Nigerian banks have increased the amount of cash parked with the Central Bank of Nigeria to N6.28tn, highlighting the high level of liquidity sitting within the banking system.

CBN financial market data showed that banks’ placements at the Standing Deposit Facility rose to approximately N6.278tn on 29 September, 2026, from N6.014tn the previous day.

The latest figure represents an increase of about N264bn in one day and approximately N379bn compared with the N5.899tn recorded on 25 September.

The buildup in idle funds came as the CBN conducted another major Open Market Operations auction, offering N2.5tn in fresh securities on Tuesday.

The latest OMO auction took place as N2.433tn in existing OMO instruments matured and became due for repayment on the same day.

The fresh N2.5tn offer was therefore slightly higher than the amount returning to investors, with a difference of about N66.8bn.

The auction comprised N500bn in 147-day bills, N1tn in 182-day bills and N1tn in 266-day bills.

The securities will mature between February and June 2027, with the 266-day instrument extending the CBN’s liquidity management operations into the second quarter of next year.

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“The rising SDF balance suggests that have enough funds available for placement with the central bank, even as the CBN provides additional instruments for investors to deploy liquidity,” said a financial analyst and economist, Nonso Iheoma.

SDF placements increased from N5.899tn on 25 September to N6.28tn four days later.

Over the same period, banks’ opening balances fluctuated, reaching N131.82bn on 29 September from N277.74bn on 28 September.

The high SDF balance comes amid strong investor demand for CBN’s OMO instruments.

Four OMO auctions conducted earlier in September generated approximately N20.58tn in bids against a combined offer of N3.9tn.

The CBN allotted about N12.823tn from those auctions.

September’s subscriptions also exceeded the N18.72tn recorded in August, after the central bank widened access to OMO securities to individuals, companies and non-bank financial institutions through deposit money banks.

Despite the strong demand, accepted rates on longer-tenor OMO instruments declined from about 18.99 per cent at the beginning of September to 17.29 per cent at the 24 September auction.