Fungible Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

Fungible Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are government short-term debt securities issued by way of invitation to tender. A fungible security can be issued, the first time, in form of a fixed size then subsequent issues are matched.

Characteristics of T-Bills

• Nominal unit: 1 000 000 FCFA (unit amount of each bill).
• The nominal value (NV), multiple of the nominal unit, corresponds to the amount announced by the Treasury of the issuing State. The Treasury has the option to retain up to 110% of the amount put out to tender if offers are satisfactory.
• Maturities: 7, 28, 91, 182, 360 days. The due date is expressed in number of days (n).
• Interest rate (i): fixed.  Interests are deducted from the issuance’s nominal value
• Basis for interest calculation: by agreement, the basis of calculation for T-Bills is  Exact/360.
• Interests: interest is payable in advance on value date, calculated on the nominal value (NV) of bills (discounted at the yield rate requested by the investor).
• Net amount (NM): the net amount received by the issuer corresponds to the nominal value minus interest paid by the issuer. NM = NV (1 − i ∗ n/360)
• Refund: Treasury bills are reimbursed only once at final maturity (bullet redemption).
• Performance (i’): i′ =  (NV – 1)/NM * 360/n

Who can benefit?

• Any natural or legal person residing in the Union
• Non-resident investors through Primary Dealers or banks resident in the Union.

Issuance technique

• Bills are issued by tender and at multiple rates (requested rates). Auction ensures market transparency and competition.

• Issues by tender are organized by the WAMU Securities Agency. Notice of call for tenders is launched for each issue of Fungible Treasury Bill. This notice specifies the issuance characteristics as well as bidding practicalities

Subscription terms

• Fungible Treasury Bills are available at any time on the primary market and the secondary market through Primary Dealers, financial institutions and brokerage firms.
  
• The purchase amount is a multiple of 1 000 000 FCFA.

Taxation

Tax applied to Fungible Treasury Bills is that in force in the issuing State. In general, Treasury bills are exempt from taxes for buyers who are residents of the issuing State.

Benefits

• Fungible Treasury Bills offer short-term investment to meet requirements of cash management security (sovereign issuer) and quality (the State).
• Fungible Treasury Bills offer the investor an optimal risk/return ratio.
• The remuneration is known and paid in advance to the investor on the acquisition of securities (securities interest).
• Investment on Fungible Treasury Bills helps to contribute to the cash resources of the State.

Liquidity

• Treasury bills are traded over-the-counter on the secondary market and are eligible (for those who are eligible) as collateral to access Central Bank refinancing.