. FG bond subscription hits ₦1.74tn in July
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.5 per cent for the second time.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday at the end of the committee’s 306th meeting in Abuja.
Cardoso said, “The Committee decided as follows: retain the monetary policy rate at 26.5 per cent.”
The move follows an earlier hold at the previous MPC briefing, and a 50-basis-point cut announced in February 2026.
The MPC’s decision to retain rates occurred despite a marginal decrease in Nigeria’s inflation rate.
According to the most recent Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 15.93 per cent recorded in May.
It observed that the current inflation rate marked its first decline after three consecutive monthly increases, from 15.06 per cent in February to 15.38 per cent in March, 15.69 per cent in April and 15.93 per cent in May.
Meanwhile, the Debt Management Office recorded total subscriptions of ₦1.74tn at its July 2026 Federal Government bond auction, with investors oversubscribing the ₦1.2tn offered across three reopened bond instruments.
Results released by the DMO on Tuesday showed strong demand for the three Federal Government bonds, with subscriptions exceeding the amount offered by about “₦538.66bn.”
The auction featured the reopening of the “22.60% FGN JAN 2035,” “16.2499% FGN APR 2037,” and “15.45% FGN JUN 2038” bonds, with “₦400bn” offered under each instrument.
According to the auction results, the “16.2499% FGN APR 2037” bond attracted the highest investor interest, receiving “211 bids” worth “₦665.19bn.” Of the bids received, “126” were successful, while “₦381.46bn” was allotted to investors.
The “22.60% FGN JAN 2035” bond recorded “184 bids” with subscriptions totalling “₦555.47bn.” The DMO accepted 90 successful bids and “allotted ₦245.73bn.”
The “15.45% FGN JUN 2038” bond attracted “161 bids” worth “₦518bn.” The DMO “accepted 92 successful bids, allotted ₦302.13bn, and also recorded a ₦50bn non-competitive bid. Overall, the DMO allotted ₦929.32bn across the three bond instruments.”
The auction results showed that successful bids for the January 2035, April 2037 and June 2038 bonds were allotted at marginal rates of “18.3400%,” “18.3500%” and “18.4000%” respectively, while the original coupon rates of “22.60%,” “16.2499%” and “15.45%” would be maintained.
Settlement for the bonds is scheduled for July 22, 2026.”
The “22.60% FGN JAN 2035” bond has a remaining term to maturity of “8 years, 6 months,” while the “16.2499% FGN APR 2037” and “15.45% FGN JUN 2038” bonds have remaining maturities of “10 years, 9 months” and “11 years, 11 months,” respectively.
Federal Government bonds are long-term debt instruments issued by the DMO on behalf of the Federal Government to finance budget deficits and infrastructure development while providing investors with fixed-income investment opportunities.
The monthly bond auctions are closely watched by investors as indicators of liquidity in the financial market, investor confidence and prevailing interest rate expectations.
