The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) returned a combined N3.81 trillion to the banking system across September 15 and 16, 2026, pushing banking system liquidity up by 131 per cent to N4.891 trillion held with the apex bank through the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) on September 16. The figures come from CBN financial market data covering the two days, which showed a system flush with cash.
The N3.81 trillion cumulative repayment comprised N3.056 trillion in Open Market Operations (OMO) maturities on September 15 and N748.64 billion in primary-market repayments on September 16.
Key data points from the two-day window include:
- Banks opened trading on September 16 with balances of N251.25 billion, a decline of N113.53 billion from the N364.78 billion recorded on September 15. - The N3.056 trillion OMO repayment of September 15 moved into the SDF the following day. - SDF placements reached N4.891 trillion on September 16, roughly 108 per cent higher than the N2.118 trillion recorded on September 15. - The September 15 OMO repayment exceeded that day's N2.118 trillion SDF placement by about N938 billion, indicating a net liquidity injection. - On September 16, the N748.64 billion primary-market repayment was roughly six-and-a-half times smaller than the N4.891 trillion parked at the SDF, a gap of about N4.14 trillion.
Taken together, the CBN released N3.81 trillion into the system through OMO and primary-market repayments over the two days, while banks placed a cumulative N7.01 trillion at the SDF in the same window, drawing down a larger liquidity buffer already present.
The scale of the repayments matched projections from the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), which had estimated total weekly liquidity inflows of N3.56 trillion, up 18.2 per cent from N3.02 trillion the previous week. The FMDA forecast OMO maturities of N3.06 trillion, about 86 per cent of the week's total inflow, a projection almost identical to the N3.056 trillion that materialised on September 15. Treasury Bills maturities were projected to rise sharply to N449.76 billion from N71.37 billion. FGN bond coupons of N39.65 billion were flagged as a new inflow source, alongside corporate bond coupons of N5.87 billion and commercial paper maturities of N8.47 billion. With no FGN bond maturities, corporate bond maturities, or FAAC disbursements projected for the week, OMO and T-bills maturities alone accounted for about 98.6 per cent of the N3.56 trillion estimate.
