The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it has fully awarded its 28-day bills offered at P100 billion.

The BSP securities auction received P162.80 billion tenders on Friday, lower than January 15’s P167.25 billion bids.
The BSP bills fetched a lower average rate this week of 1.6362 percent from 1.6473 percent. The bid coverage ratio was 1.6280.
“The sustained strong demand continued to push down the weighted average interest rate which settled at 1.6362 percent, lower by 1.112 bps from the rate last week. The accepted yields were lower and narrower, ranging from 1.629-1.645 percent,” noted BSP Governor-in-charge, Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila Jr.
Total bids of P162.80 billion is 1.63x more than the offer volume.
Dakila said demand for securities remain strong because liquidity is “ample” as demand for cash holdings has normalized after the long Christmas and New Year breaks.
During Thursday’s quarterly inflation briefing, with P2 trillion liquidity injection to the system which is equivalent to 10 percent of nominal GDP, Dakila said that “amid ample liquidity in the financial system, bond market activity has increased, with improved appetite for government securities.”
“Similarly, the weekly auctions of BSP securities reflected sustained strong demand since their launch in September 2020. However, we note that credit activity remains weak as risk aversion persists in the banking sector. (Nonetheless) the BSP remains confident in the soundness and resilience of the banking sector, as capital adequacy ratios have stayed well above the mandatory standards,” said Dakila.
The BSP first offered the BSP bills on September 18 last year. The securities facility is considered one of the BSP’s more effective liquidity management tool to bring short-term market rates closer to the policy rate.