Nigerian interbank rates fall on matured bonds, T-bills

Nigeria's overnight lending rates halved to an average 6 percent on Friday from 12.25 percent last week after central bank retired large matured bonds and treasury bills in the week, boosting liquidity in the market, traders said.
However, a technical glitch that hit the central bank's trading platform hindered major fund transfers and placement in the market.
"The market liquidity was boosted by repaid matured bonds and treasury bills worth about 806 billion naira ($4 billion), but because of the technical fault, many traders were unable to transfer or place money in the market," one dealer said.
Traders said the trading hiccup, which started on Wednesday, may spillover to next week and could delay more transactions.
The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) traded at 6 percent on Friday among some few commercial lenders who were able to place funds in the market, down from 12 percent last week. The secured fund traded 7 percentage points below the central bank's benchmark interest rate of 13 percent.
Overnight placement also traded at 6 percent against 12.5 percent last week.
"We hope the technical issue would be resolved by next week, otherwise it could threaten settlement in the market and stall trading," another dealer said.