Investor demand for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bonds declined in November, with the Debt Management Office (DMO) allotting N5.06 billion, representing a 17.4 per cent drop from the N6.12 billion raised in October.
The decline came as subscriptions fell for both the two-year and three-year government savings instruments, indicating weaker participation in the Federal Government’s monthly retail borrowing programme.
Results published by the DMO showed that the November offer attracted N746.01 million for the two-year savings bond and N4.31 billion for the three-year instrument.
The total allotment was approximately N1.06 billion below the previous month’s figure, despite the government offering annual interest rates of 13.25 per cent and 14.25 per cent on the two-year and three-year bonds, respectively.
The November offer opened on November 2 and closed on November 6, with settlement completed on November 11.
A breakdown of the results showed that the two-year November 2028 bond attracted 968 subscriptions, compared with 1,261 subscriptions recorded for the corresponding instrument in October.
The amount allotted to the two-year bond also fell from N1.02 billion in October to N746.01 million in November.
Similarly, the three-year November 2029 bond recorded 2,390 subscriptions, down from 2,678 subscriptions received for the October 2029 instrument.
Its allotment also declined from N5.11 billion to N4.31 billion, despite offering investors a higher annual interest rate of 14.25 per cent.
The three-year instrument accounted for approximately 85 per cent of the total amount allotted in November, maintaining its position as the more subscribed option among the two instruments.
The latest figures indicate that the decline in investor participation affected both bond categories, rather than being limited to the shorter-term instrument.
FGN Savings Bonds are designed to give individual investors access to government securities through relatively affordable investment thresholds, with periodic interest payments and repayment of principal at maturity.
The instruments also enable the Federal Government to raise funds from retail investors as part of its domestic borrowing programme.
The DMO conducts the savings bond offer monthly, determining the applicable interest rates and investment tenors for each issuance.