The Central Bank of Nigeria injected a combined N3.81 trillion into the banking system on September 15 and 16, 2026, significantly increasing the amount of surplus cash held by banks with the apex bank.
Financial market data showed that the liquidity injection came mainly through repayments on Open Market Operations instruments and primary market transactions.
The development pushed funds placed by banks under the Central Bank’s Standing Deposit Facility to N4.891 trillion on September 16, representing a sharp increase from the previous day.
The N3.81 trillion released into the system consisted of N3.056 trillion in OMO repayments made on September 15 and another N748.64 billion in primary market repayments on September 16.
Banks began September 16 with N251.25 billion in balances, compared with N364.78 billion recorded a day earlier.
The N3.056 trillion OMO repayment made on September 15 was subsequently placed into the Standing Deposit Facility by banks the following day. SDF placements consequently rose to N4.891 trillion on September 16 from N2.118 trillion on September 15.
The difference between the OMO repayment and the amount placed at the SDF also points to a substantial liquidity injection into the banking system. The N3.056 trillion repayment was about N938 billion higher than the N2.118 trillion deposited under the facility on September 15.
On September 16, the N748.64 billion primary market repayment was significantly smaller than the N4.891 trillion placed at the SDF, leaving a difference of about N4.14 trillion.
Taken together, the transactions over the two days show the CBN releasing N3.81 trillion through repayments while banks placed about N7.01 trillion with the apex bank through the SDF during the same period. This suggests that banks were holding a sizeable liquidity buffer despite the ongoing monetary operations.
The scale of the repayments was broadly in line with liquidity projections earlier issued by the Financial Markets Dealers Association, which estimated that about N3.56 trillion would flow into the banking system during the week.
That projection represented an 18.2 percent increase from the N3.02 trillion estimated for the previous week.
OMO maturities were expected to account for about N3.06 trillion of the projected inflows, representing roughly 86 percent of the total. The actual N3.056 trillion OMO repayment on September 15 was therefore almost exactly in line with the earlier estimate.
Treasury Bills maturities were also projected to contribute N449.76 billion, a significant increase from the N71.37 billion recorded in the previous week.
The weekly liquidity projection also included N39.65 billion from Federal Government bond coupons, while corporate bond coupons were expected to contribute N5.87 billion and commercial paper maturities another N8.47 billion.
No inflows were projected from Federal Government bond maturities, corporate bond maturities or FAAC disbursements during the week. As a result, OMO and Treasury Bills maturities were expected to account for about 98.6 percent of the projected N3.56 trillion liquidity inflow.
The latest development follows a similar pattern seen several times in the CBN’s monetary operations this year, with large liquidity injections occurring alongside efforts by the apex bank to absorb excess cash from the financial system.
In August, the CBN withdrew N4.72 trillion through four OMO auctions conducted over two days, while about N4.3 trillion flowed back into the system through primary market repayments during the same period. Banks still had about N3.42 trillion placed with the SDF at the time.
Earlier in February, the CBN also absorbed more than N3.57 trillion from the financial system over three days, even as banks continued placing substantial amounts of surplus cash with the Standing Deposit Facility.
With SDF placements rising sharply in September while maturing instruments continue to release liquidity into the banking system, attention is now expected to focus on the CBN’s next Treasury Bills and OMO auction cycles and how they will influence liquidity conditions in the financial market.
