Banks’ net placements at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) climbed past N6 trillion during the week ended Friday, October 16, 2026, after a N2.41 trillion Open Market Operations (OMO) repayment released cash into the banking system. Deposits remained above that threshold for three consecutive days.
Net SDF activity rose from about N3.86 trillion on October 13 to N6.08 trillion on October 16, an increase of N2.22 trillion, or 57.65%, over the four-day period, according to the CBN’s daily banking system liquidity reports covering October 13 to 16.
The CBN recorded OMO repayments of N2.408 trillion on October 13, the largest securities repayment in the period and the only OMO repayment across the four days, with no new OMO sales reported.
The shift became visible on October 14, when net SDF activity rose by roughly N2.21 trillion, or 57.18%, to N6.065 trillion, equal to about 91.6% of the previous day’s OMO repayment. SDF activity then eased marginally by N20.76 billion to N6.044 trillion on October 15, before increasing by N38.70 billion to N6.083 trillion on October 16, the highest reading in the series.
Banks maintained the elevated placements after the initial jump rather than withdrawing the funds, suggesting the OMO maturities may have prompted deposits into the SDF.
Government securities sales absorbed only part of the liquidity. Primary-market securities sales totalled N269.06 billion, all recorded on October 15 and exactly matching the allotment from the October 14 Treasury bill auction. Subscriptions at that auction reached about N1.032 trillion, but the Debt Management Office allotted only N269.06 billion, rejecting roughly 74% of bids.
Primary-market repayments of N109.96 billion reduced net absorption from those transactions to N159.10 billion. Combining the OMO repayment and primary-market transactions produced a net securities-related liquidity release of about N2.25 trillion.
The net release was close to the N2.22 trillion increase in SDF activity, though the data does not establish that the same funds moved between the two accounts.
