- Treasury Exceeds GH¢2.75bn Target as Investors Submit GH¢3.66bn in Bids
The Government of Ghana raised GH¢2.90bn from its latest Treasury bill auction, exceeding its financing target as investor demand recovered from the previous week’s undersubscription.
Tender 2026, conducted on September 25 for securities to be issued on September 28, attracted GH¢3.66bn in bids across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturities.
The government accepted GH¢2.90bn, equivalent to 79.3 per cent of the total amount tendered and GH¢146.86m more than its GH¢2.75bn target.
The auction recorded a bid-cover ratio of 1.26 when measured against the target and 1.33 when total bids are compared with the amount accepted.
The outcome marks a sharp reversal from Tender 2025, when the government received GH¢3.96bn in bids against a GH¢4.12bn target and accepted only GH¢2.21bn.
NorvanReports reported at the time that the government had fallen substantially short of its borrowing target after rejecting almost GH¢1.75bn of investor demand, including most of the bids for the one-year bill.
This week, the amount accepted increased by GH¢686.19mn, or 31 per cent, even though total bids declined by GH¢300.42m from the previous auction.
The stronger result was therefore driven not by a rise in aggregate investor demand but by a greater willingness by the Treasury to accept the rates submitted.
Official results show weighted average interest rates fell across all three maturities, indicating that the government mobilised more funding without paying higher yields.
The 91-day bill continued to dominate government borrowing.
Investors submitted GH¢2.08bn in bids for the three-month security, of which the government accepted GH¢1.88bn.
The acceptance rate was 90.5 per cent, the highest among the three maturities.
The 91-day bill accounted for 64.9 per cent of total funds raised, reinforcing the Treasury’s dependence on short-term borrowing.
Its weighted average interest rate declined marginally to 4.6785 per cent from 4.6941 per cent in the preceding auction, a reduction of about 1.6 basis points.
The weighted average discount rate settled at 4.6244 per cent.
Investors submitted discount-rate bids ranging from 4.40 per cent to 6 per cent, but the government allotted bids in full only between 4.40 per cent and 4.80 per cent.
The rejection of higher-priced bids indicates that the Treasury remains unwilling to allow market rates to rise sharply, even as it accepts a larger proportion of overall demand.
The heavy concentration in the 91-day security reduces the government’s immediate borrowing cost but increases refinancing risk.
Short-term bills must be repaid or rolled over four times within a year. If investor appetite weakens or market rates rise, the government could face significantly higher financing pressure within a relatively short period.
The 182-day bill attracted GH¢702.95m in bids, up from GH¢452.79m in the previous week.
The government accepted GH¢520.57m, equivalent to 74.1 per cent of the amount tendered.
This represented a substantial increase from the GH¢224.96m accepted at Tender 2025.
The six-month bill cleared at a weighted average interest rate of 6.3701 per cent, down from 6.4895 per cent a week earlier. The decrease amounted to almost 12 basis points.
Its weighted average discount rate was 6.1734 per cent.
Bids ranged from 5.8252 per cent to 8.6124 per cent on a discount basis, but bids allotted in full were limited to rates of between 5.8252 per cent and 6.30 per cent.
The increase in accepted volume alongside a lower clearing yield is a favourable development for the Treasury. It suggests that investors were prepared to commit more funds for six months without demanding a higher return.
However, the maturity still represented less than 18 per cent of total funds raised.
The most significant shift occurred in the 364-day bill.
Investors tendered GH¢876.72m, of which the government accepted GH¢497.74m. The acceptance rate was 56.8 per cent.
In the previous auction, the Treasury accepted just GH¢110.52mn from GH¢1.21bn in bids for the one-year security an acceptance rate of only 9.1 per cent.
The increase in accepted one-year bids indicates that the government was more willing to extend the maturity of its domestic borrowing, provided investor rates remained within its preferred range.
The 364-day bill cleared at a weighted average interest rate of 9.8339 per cent, down from 9.9820 per cent in the previous auction.
The decline of almost 15 basis points was the largest among the three tenors.
The weighted average discount rate fell to 8.9534 per cent.
Investors submitted discount-rate bids ranging from 8.2569 per cent to 11.5044 per cent, while full allotment was restricted to rates between 8.2569 per cent and 9.0909 per cent.
The government therefore rejected a substantial portion of the bids at the upper end of the range.
Although the one-year bill raised almost four-and-a-half times the amount accepted at the previous auction, it accounted for only 17.2 per cent of total borrowing.
The maturity structure consequently remains weighted heavily towards the shortest instrument.
The latest auction extends the broader decline in Treasury bill rates.
At Tender 2024, the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day securities cleared at interest rates of 4.6949 per cent, 6.5107 per cent and 10.1017 per cent, respectively.
At Tender 2025, those rates declined to 4.6941 per cent, 6.4895 per cent and 9.9820 per cent.
They have now fallen further to 4.6785 per cent, 6.3701 per cent and 9.8339 per cent.
The cumulative decline over the two auctions has been modest at the short end but more pronounced for the longer maturities.
The 91-day rate has fallen by about 1.6 basis points since Tender 2024, while the 182-day and 364-day rates have declined by roughly 14.1 and 26.8 basis points, respectively.
This pattern suggests the government is making greater progress in lowering borrowing costs further along the Treasury bill curve.
Lower yields reduce the cost of servicing new domestic debt and could support a broader decline in market interest rates.
But the effect on the government’s overall interest bill will depend on the quantity of securities issued, the pace of refinancing and the rates attached to the existing stock of debt.
The auction returned to oversubscription relative to the government’s target, but investor demand was lower in absolute terms than the previous week.
Total bids declined from GH¢3.96bn to GH¢3.66bn, a reduction of 7.6 per cent.
The improved financing outcome arose because the target was cut sharply from GH¢4.12bn to GH¢2.75bn and the Treasury accepted a much greater share of bids.
The government accepted 79.3 per cent of bids this week, compared with 55.9 per cent at Tender 2025.
It would therefore be premature to conclude that investor appetite has fully strengthened. The figures show that demand was adequate for a lower target and that the government became less restrictive in its allocations.
The Bank of Ghana has set a target of GH¢2.24bn for Tender 2027, a reduction of GH¢510mn from the latest target and GH¢656.86mn below the amount just raised.
The lower target may reflect reduced refinancing requirements, improved cash availability or an effort to limit the accumulation of short-term debt. The auction notice does not provide the reason for the reduction.
If investor demand remains near current levels, the smaller target could allow the government to reject more expensive bids and push yields lower again.
But sustained reliance on the 91-day bill presents a continuing vulnerability. Nearly two-thirds of the latest borrowing will mature within three months, requiring the Treasury to return quickly to the market.
The latest auction therefore offers two messages.
The immediate financing position has improved: the government exceeded its target and raised more money at lower yields.
The structural challenge remains: Ghana is still relying heavily on short-term debt, leaving its domestic financing programme exposed to repeated refinancing and sudden changes in investor sentiment.
