CBN clarifies on Open Market Operation Bills, Nigerian Treasury Bills

By Etuka Sunday

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday clarified on the difference between Open Market Operation Bills and the Nigerian Treasury Bills.
CBN said, “often, members of the public confuse Open OMO Bills with the NTBs. The need has therefore arisen to clarify the differences between the two instruments.”
Whereas the CBN is the issuer of the OMO Bills, the CBN only issues the NTBs on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Also, while OMO Bills are strictly for liquidity management to achieve price stability, NTBs are for financing Federal Government budget requirements.
OMO Bills are issued on need basis and at irregular intervals depending on banking system liquidity position. Conversely, for NTBs, auctions are done mostly twice a month strictly based on quarterly advanced or released calendar.
The tenors for CBN OMO Bills are 7 to 365 days, while those of NTBs are for 91, 182 and 364-day. The obligor for the CBN OMO Bills is the CBN, just as the Federal Government of Nigeria is the obligor for NTBs.
In terms of type of auction, OMO allows for single bids, where Money Market Dealers can submit only one bid. However, multiple bids are allowed under NTBs and Money Market Dealers can submit several bids.
OMO Bills and NTBs each have their own unique identities, separate from other securities or instruments in the money market.