The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) repaid a combined N3.81 trillion into the banking system across September 15 and 16, 2026, boosting banking system liquidity by 131% to N4.891 trillion parked with the apex bank through the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) on September 16 alone.
This is according to CBN financial market data covering September 15 and 16, 2026, which shows a banking system awash with liquidity.
The cumulative repayment figure comprises N3.056 trillion in Open Market Operations (OMO) repayments on September 15 and N748.64 billion in primary-market repayments on September 16.
Banks opened September 16 with balances of N251.25 billion, down N113.53 billion from N364.78 billion on September 15.
However, on September 16, the N748.64 billion primary-market repayment was about six-and-a-half times smaller than the N4.891 trillion parked at the SDF, a gap of roughly N4.14 trillion.
Taken together, the two days show the CBN releasing a cumulative N3.81 trillion into the system through OMO and primary-market repayments, while banks placed a cumulative N7.01 trillion at the SDF over the same window, drawing down the larger liquidity buffer already present in the system.
The scale of the September 15–16 repayments align closely with liquidity inflows projected earlier by the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) which had estimated total liquidity inflows of N3.56 trillion for the week, up from N3.02 trillion the previous week, an 18.2% increase.
No FGN bond maturities, corporate bond maturities, or FAAC disbursements were projected for the week, meaning the OMO and T-bills maturities alone accounted for about 98.6% of the total N3.56 trillion inflow estimate.
The September 15–16 pattern extends a liquidity dynamic that has featured repeatedly in the CBN’s financial data through 2026.
With SDF placements climbing sharply into mid-September even as the CBN continues to inject liquidity through maturing instruments, attention will likely turn to the CBN’s next Treasury Bills and OMO auction cycles.
