Nigerian interbank rates fall on matured treasury bills

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's overnight lending rates eased to 12.25 percent on average on Friday as the central bank repaid matured treasury bills, after peaking at 90 percent in the week. Dealers said about 184 billion naira in matured treasury bills repaid by the central bank on Thursday helped boost liquidity in the market and caused interbank rates to fall. The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rate closed at 12 percent, compared with 90 percent on Wednesday. The secured fund traded just one percentage point below the central bank's benchmark interest rate of 13 percent. The OBB rate closed last Friday at 27 percent. Dealers said around 500 billion naira in matured treasury bills and bonds are expected to hit the market next week, which could translate to further falls in cost of borrowing among banks.