Q: What is a Commercial Paper Auction?

Q: What is a Commercial Paper Auction?

In the primary market, the issuer through an Issuing House sells to the market, through a fixed price subscription. Here, market participants signal interest in the issue and commit to purchasing volume sizes over an ‘offer period’ – which typically lasts only a few days. 

This process is so because the rate on the issuance is fixed prior to offer to the market. This is unlike the T-Bills primary market issuances which are held in an auction format and investors are allowed to state the yields at which they would be willing to invest.

    • Related Articles

    • Q. How to calculate your Commercial Paper Investment Returns

      Stage 1 Under current terms (interest rate & 182-day tenor), investor puts N5m to work. However, this represents Face value "FV" (A) to be received at maturity. Interest works out to -N514k (B) which if taken upfront, means the actual/real amount ...
    • Q: What is True Yield?

      The ‘true yield’ is the effective return on investment (ROI). Using a simplified example, if an investor wants to receive N100,000 after a one-year period (365-days) and choses to invest in a discounted instrument which is offered at a rate of 10%, the ...
    • Q: What do I Benefit from Investing in Commercial Papers?

      While CPs in Nigeria are typically issued by blue chip corporates with impressive track records of financial performance, this does not eliminate credit risk. The discount rate on the CP is usually reflective of the credit rating of the issuer, which ...
    • Q: What are commercial papers?

      Commercial Papers (“CPs”) are unsecured short-term debt instruments issued by corporates to get funds from the public (private individuals, institutional investors, non-governmental organizations, religious bodies etc.) to meet short-term debt ...
    • Q: What are the other benefits of Commercial Paper?

      Interest earned is tax-exempt. Since certificates are issued for CP investments, they can be used as collateral or as evidence of investment for visa application.