What is a Treasury Bill?   
A treasury bill is a paperless short-term borrowing instrument issued by the Government through the Central Bank of Kenya (as a fiscal agent) to raise money on short term basis – for a period of up to 1 year. Treasury bills are issued in maturities of 91, 182 and 364 days. Treasury bills are sold at a discounted price to reflect investor’s return and redeemed at face (par) value.

These financial instruments are either issued on a discount or face value, at a competitive auction on a weekly basis. At a discount means the instrument is sold to an investor, at below the face value and then redeemed at maturity at the full face value. The difference between the discounted price and the face value determines the yield/ interest earned.

Rates on these securities have continued to fall as the Central Bank rejects aggressively priced bids, with the highly liquid market also helping tame the interest rate.

The average yield on Kenya’s 91-day Treasury bills fell to 7.998% on Thursday’s auction compared to the previous week’s 8.189% . The Central bank received bids worth Ksh 7.29 Billion ($72.47 million) against the Ksh 4.00 Billion of bills offered. Only bids worth Ksh 4.80 Billion was accepted.

Below are the 91-Day Treasury Bill Average Rates for the year 2016 to date (May 23rd).

The  move by the CBK to curb its appetite for expensive money has been seen as a key factor in arresting the upward drive of interest rates on treasuries.

* Source; Central Bank Of Kenya.