The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has returned to fresh long-term debt issuance, unveiling a new 30-year fixed-coupon Treasury bond, its first since September 2024. The offer is paired with a reopened 30-year savings development bond, with the two instruments jointly targeting KSh 20 billion for April.
The new FXD1/2026/030 carries a 12.50% coupon and matures on 13 March 2056, effectively extending Kenya’s domestic yield curve by ten years.
It is being issued alongside the SDB1/2011/030, a reopened savings development bond first floated in 2011, with 14.9 years remaining to maturity.
Through reopenings alone, net domestic borrowing has reached KSh 737.69 billion across 14 auctions since July 2025, accounting for about 83% of the revised FY2025/26 target of KSh 885.9 billion, leaving roughly KSh 148 billion still to be raised in the remaining months.
Bond Offer Snapshot
| Metric | SDB1/2011/030 | FXD1/2026/030 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Reopening | New Issue |
| Tenor | 30-Year (14.9 yrs remaining) | 30-Year (30 yrs to maturity) |
| Coupon | 12.000% | 12.500% |
| Maturity | 21 Jan 2041 | 13 Mar 2056 |
| Accrued Interest | KSh 2.31 per KSh 100 | KSh 0 per KSh 100 |
This marks the third bond auction in April. It follows a KSh 40 billion reopening settled on 6 April that attracted KSh 50.19 billion in subscriptions, and coincides with a KSh 20 billion switch auction scheduled to close on 13 April. Altogether, Treasury is aiming to raise as much as KSh 80 billion this month.
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Since September 2024, the government has leaned heavily on reopenings and switch auctions to meet its domestic financing needs, allowing it to maintain tighter control over borrowing costs as yields eased from their 2024 highs. The decision to reintroduce a new long-term bond at a 12.50% coupon, alongside ten consecutive policy rate cuts bringing the benchmark rate down to 8.75%, suggests policymakers are confident the interest rate cycle has turned a corner.
The new bond is priced at par with no accrued interest, offering investors a clean entry at a 12.50% yield. Until now, the longest maturity available this fiscal year had been the FXD1/2021/025, set to mature in April 2046.
The extended tenor provides pension funds and insurance firms with a rare opportunity to secure long-duration assets, better aligning their portfolios with long-term liabilities in an environment where such instruments have been in short supply.
