The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) accepted Sh51.69 billion in Treasury bill bids at its weekly auction on Thursday, October 29, 2026, almost twice the Sh28 billion it had offered, as investors rushed into 91-day paper while interest rates stayed broadly flat.
Bids totalled Sh51.86 billion, a performance rate of 185.2 percent. Competitive bids made up Sh33.58 billion of the amount accepted, while non-competitive bids, which are mostly from small investors, contributed Sh18.10 billion.
The 91-day bill dominated, with bids of Sh40.63 billion against Sh8 billion on offer, a performance rate of 507.9 percent, and Sh40.56 billion accepted. That is about 78 percent of all the money taken.
Demand for the longer tenors was weak: the 182-day bill drew Sh5.32 billion against Sh10 billion offered, a 53.2 percent performance rate, with Sh5.22 billion accepted, while the 364-day bill drew Sh5.91 billion against Sh10 billion, or 59.1 percent, all of which was accepted.
Interest rates barely moved. The average rate on accepted 91-day bids rose slightly to 8.7498 percent from 8.7478 percent at the previous auction. The 182-day rate eased to 8.8508 percent from 8.8591 percent, while the 364-day rate edged up to 9.0288 percent from 9.0267 percent. The market weighted average rate for the 182-day bill was 8.8600 percent.
Most of the money was used to roll over maturing debt. Of the amount accepted, Sh40.74 billion went to redemptions and rollovers, leaving net new borrowing of about Sh10.95 billion. That figure hides a split across tenors: the Treasury raised about Sh25.93 billion of fresh money on the 91-day bill and Sh1.86 billion on the 182-day bill, but repaid a net Sh16.84 billion on the 364-day bill, as more of the older one-year paper fell due than was bought.
The result is a sharp turnaround from the previous auction, when the CBK accepted Sh28.79 billion against Sh28 billion on offer. It also suggests investors are favouring short-term paper, which carries less risk of losses from interest rate changes, as they wait for the outcome of the Sh50 billion bond sale that closes on November 4.
The CBK will offer another Sh28 billion in a combined auction on Thursday, November 5, with bids due by 2pm. Investors need active CSD accounts, and the minimum bid is Sh50,000 for non-competitive bids and Sh2 million for competitive bids.
