Yes — with Nigeria's benchmark interest rate held at 26.5% and money-market yields running 18 to 22%, moving idle naira out of a zero-interest current account and into treasury bills or short-term bank placements is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort moves a Nigerian CFO can make in 2026. Companies that did exactly this earned ₦179.5 billion in treasury and bank-placement income in H1 2026 — up 174% from ₦65.6 billion a year earlier.
Why Are Nigerian Companies Earning So Much From Treasury Bills Right Now?
The Central Bank of Nigeria's Monetary Policy Committee held the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5% at its 20–21 July 2026 meeting in Abuja — the second straight hold — with Governor Olayemi Cardoso citing the need to "sustain the moderation in inflation," stabilise the naira, and consolidate recent macroeconomic gains against a backdrop of renewed Middle East hostilities. Headline inflation eased marginally to 15.91% in June 2026 from 15.93% in May, though food prices kept climbing month-on-month. That elevated policy rate has pushed yields on treasury bills, FGN bonds and short-term bank placements to 18–22% — among the richest returns on cash Nigerian businesses have seen in years.
A review of listed companies found at least 19 firms earned a combined ₦179.5 billion in finance income from treasury bills and bank placements in H1 2026, against a broader sample topping ₦200 billion once every reviewed company is included. MTN Nigeria led the pack with ₦46.8 billion, drawing on ₦874 billion in liquid assets; Dangote Cement earned ₦14.8 billion; Julius Berger and Presco each brought in ₦9 billion; and NASCON Allied Industries earned ₦5.3 billion. Not every company gained — BUA Cement's finance income fell from ₦18.7 billion to ₦7.5 billion, and several heavily leveraged firms saw their treasury gains partly offset by higher interest expense on existing debt.
Should Your Business Park Idle Cash in Treasury Bills?
For genuinely idle cash — money not needed for payroll, supplier payments, tax remittances or planned capital expenditure in the next few weeks — the answer is generally yes. At 18–22%, short-term instruments now outrun most operating returns a Nigerian SME earns on working capital sitting in a current account. But the same 26.5% policy rate that makes treasury income attractive also makes borrowing for expansion expensive, so this isn't a substitute for disciplined investment decisions — it's what you do with cash that has no better use in the next 90 to 180 days. A CFO who can't say precisely how much of the company's cash is genuinely idle, versus needed for the next VAT or PAYE remittance, shouldn't be locking any of it away.
What Instruments Should a CFO Actually Compare?
A short-term treasury policy should weigh instruments on yield, tenor and liquidity together, not yield alone:
- Non-interest current account — 0% yield, on-demand liquidity, zero risk — the default most Nigerian businesses over-use.
- Fixed or call bank deposits — roughly 16–20%, 30–180 day tenors, moderate liquidity subject to notice periods.
- Treasury bills (NTBs) — roughly 18–20%, 91–364 day tenors, high liquidity via the secondary market, sovereign risk.
- FGN bonds — roughly 19–22%, 2–10 year tenors, lower short-term liquidity — better suited to genuinely long-dated surplus.
- Money market mutual funds — roughly 16–19%, open-ended and typically redeemable within 24–48 hours, professionally managed and useful for smaller balances.
How Should a CFO Set This Up in Practice?
- Build a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast to separate genuinely idle cash from cash earmarked for near-term obligations — tax remittances especially.
- Ladder maturities against known outflow dates, so a treasury bill matures the week your VAT or PAYE payment is due, not after.
- Diversify across at least two counterparties and instrument types rather than concentrating surplus cash with a single bank.
- Put a written treasury and investment policy in front of the board — tenor limits, counterparty limits and approval thresholds — rather than leaving cash deployment to informal judgment calls.
- Confirm finance income is classified and disclosed correctly under IFRS 9 and the newly effective IFRS 18 in Nigeria, which changes how operating and investing income are presented in the income statement.
What This Means for Your Business
The scale of the 174% jump in treasury income tells its own story: Nigerian businesses that treated idle cash as a passive balance-sheet line are leaving real money on the table in this rate environment, while peers with an active treasury function converted the same cash into a meaningful profit contributor. The discipline this requires — accurate cash forecasting, reconciled bank records, a documented policy — is the same discipline that keeps a business audit-ready. Treat cash management as a deliberate function this quarter, not an afterthought — the 26.5% rate environment that makes idle cash this rewarding will not necessarily last through 2027.
FAQ
What yield can a Nigerian business get on treasury bills right now? As of August 2026, treasury bills, FGN bonds and short-term bank placements are yielding roughly 18–22%, tracking the CBN's benchmark Monetary Policy Rate of 26.5%.
Is treasury bill income taxable? Yes. Finance income earned from treasury bills, bonds and bank placements is assessable income for companies income tax purposes and should be recognised and disclosed as such in your financial statements — it isn't a tax-free return.
Does this income affect how I report under IFRS? Yes. Finance income needs to be correctly classified and presented under IFRS 9 and the newly effective IFRS 18 in Nigeria, which changes how operating profit is distinguished from investing and financing income on the face of the income statement.
Idle cash is not a strategy — it's an unmanaged risk in a rate environment this rich. VOG Global Consult's finance advisory team can build a board-ready treasury policy, structure your cash deployment across compliant instruments, and make sure the resulting finance income is correctly classified under IFRS. Contact VOG Global today to put your idle cash to work. Suite 060 to 061, Orago Complex, Area 10, Garki, Abuja.