The Government of Ghana raised GH¢7.21 billion in its latest Treasury bill auction, falling GH¢764.27 million short of its target after rejecting nearly half of the bids submitted for the 364-day paper.
Results for Tender 2024 show that the Treasury accepted GH¢7.21 billion from total investor bids of GH¢8.20 billion. It had set out to raise GH¢7.97 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day securities.
The auction was held on September 11, with the bills scheduled for issue on September 14.
What happened is slightly unusual. Investors offered more money than the government wanted, yet the final amount raised came in 9.59 percent below target. The issue was not a complete lack of cash in the market. It was the price attached to some of it.
The official Bank of Ghana auction result records the volumes under “Amount Tendered” and “Amount Sold”, showing where the Treasury drew the line.
Short-term bills attract nearly full acceptance
Demand remained strongest for the 91-day bill. Investors submitted GH¢4.56 billion, and the government accepted GH¢4.52 billion, representing an acceptance rate of about 99.12 percent.
The 182-day security attracted GH¢2.07 billion. Of that amount, GH¢1.82 billion was accepted, giving the six-month instrument an acceptance rate of approximately 87.69 percent.
The real disagreement emerged in the 364-day bill.
Investors offered GH¢1.56 billion for the one-year security, but the government accepted only GH¢867.93 million. About GH¢695 million was turned down, meaning 44.47 percent of the bids submitted for that maturity failed.
That single instrument accounted for roughly 70.20 percent of all bids rejected during the auction.
Treasury resists higher one-year rates
Rates submitted for the 364-day bill ranged from 8.6758 percent to 11.1111 percent. The range allotted in full stopped at 10.1124 percent, suggesting the Treasury was unwilling to accept a sizeable portion of bids priced above its preferred level.
The pattern was milder in the shorter securities. Bids for the 91-day bill ranged from 4.4000 percent to 5.5227 percent, while those fully accepted ended at 5.0000 percent.
For the 182-day bill, investors demanded between 6.1500 percent and 8.6124 percent. Rates allotted in full reached only 7.0000 percent.
Weighted average interest rates settled at 4.6949 percent for the 91-day bill, 6.5107 percent for the 182-day bill and 10.1017 percent for the 364-day security.
The spread between the three-month and one-year rates stood at about 541 basis points. In plain terms, investors want considerably more compensation before locking their funds away for a full year.
Cheaper funding carries rollover risk
The auction leaves the government with a familiar trade-off. Borrowing through shorter bills is currently cheaper, but those debts must be refinanced more frequently. Heavy dependence on the 91-day instrument can expose the Treasury to rollover pressure every three months.
Longer maturities reduce that refinancing frequency, but accepting them now would mean paying double-digit rates.
Investor appetite also eased from the previous auction. Bids fell by about 17.53 percent from GH¢9.94 billion, while the amount accepted declined roughly 14.03 percent from GH¢8.38 billion.
The next auction carries a much lower target of GH¢4.12 billion. The notice does not explain whether that reduction reflects lower maturities, cash-management decisions or a broader borrowing strategy.
For now, the market message is clear enough. Investors still have funds to lend, but money offered for longer periods comes at a price the government is not prepared to accept in full.
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