Singapore T-bill auctions explained

Informational only, not financial advice. Process details and caps below are summarized from MAS. Verify against the sources cited before acting.

Singapore Treasury Bills are short-duration government paper — 6-month and 1-year tenors — issued by MAS through auctions. Unlike SSBs, T-bills have a fixed term and no early redemption at face value, but they typically offer higher yields for the same short duration.

The latest 6-month T-bill (BS26107X) priced at 1.47% cutoff (as of the last ingest). See the full auction details →

The auction format

MAS uses a uniform-price (Dutch-style) auction. This means:

1. Bidders submit the yield they want (competitive) or accept whatever the cutoff is (non-competitive).
2. MAS ranks all competitive bids from lowest yield (cheapest for the government) to highest.
3. They fill from the bottom up until the issue size is covered.
4. The last yield accepted is the cutoff yield.
5. Everyone pays the same cutoff yield — even if you bid lower.

This is different from a discriminatory (American-style) auction where each bidder pays the yield they bid. Uniform price is simpler and avoids the “winner’s curse.”

Source: MAS — How SGS Auctions Are Conducted

Competitive vs non-competitive bids

Non-competitive (most retail investors)

• You say “I want S$X of T-bills at whatever the cutoff yield is.”
• Minimum S$1,000, multiples of S$1,000.
• Non-competitive allocation is capped at 40% of the issue size. If total non-competitive bids exceed 40%, allocations are pro-rated (rounded to S$1,000 denominations).
• Per-individual cap of S$1,000,000 per auction on non-competitive bids.
• Within those limits, non-competitive bids are filled first, then competitive bids fill the remainder.

Competitive (institutional, some experienced retail)

• You specify the exact yield you want: “I want S$X at 2.50%.”
• If the cutoff is 2.45%, your bid at 2.50% is rejected — too expensive for the government.
• If the cutoff is 2.55%, your bid at 2.50% is accepted, and you still get 2.55% (the cutoff, not your bid).

For most retail investors, non-competitive is the right choice. You get the market-clearing yield without any risk of being shut out — subject to the 40% pro-rata rule if that auction is heavily oversubscribed by non-competitive bidders.

Source: MAS — How SGS Auctions Are Conducted · MAS T-bill FAQ

How to apply

Via DBS/POSB iBanking

1. Log in to DBS iBanking
2. Go to Invest → Singapore Government Securities → T-bills
3. Select the current auction (6M or 1Y)
4. Choose “Non-competitive” bid type
5. Enter the amount (min S$1,000)
6. Submit before the auction close time (bids close around 12 noon on auction day)

Via OCBC/UOB

Similar flow under each bank’s investment menu. Look for “Singapore Government Securities” or “T-bills” in the securities section.

Via CPF

You can use CPF Ordinary Account (OA) funds to buy T-bills through your CPF Investment Account (CPFIS-OA). CPF Special Account (SA) can be used via CPFIS-SA for bonds only, not T-bills. This makes T-bills an alternative to the CPF OA floor rate, currently 2.5% as of Q2 2026 (CPF rates are reviewed quarterly).

Source: CPF — interest rates from 1 Apr to 30 Jun 2026

Understanding the numbers

Cutoff yield

The highest yield MAS accepted. This is the yield every successful bidder receives. A higher cutoff means higher returns for investors but a higher borrowing cost for the government.

The latest 6-month cutoff is 1.47%. The latest 1-year cutoff is 1.46%.

Median yield

The middle bid in the competitive pool. If the median is much lower than the cutoff, it means a few aggressive bids at the tail pulled the cutoff up. If median and cutoff are close, the bidding was tight.

Bid-to-cover ratio

Total amount bid divided by the amount issued. A ratio above 2.0 generally signals strong demand. Below 1.5 suggests tepid interest.

For example, if MAS issues S$8.4 billion and receives S$14.6 billion in bids, the bid-to-cover is 1.74. That’s moderate — enough demand to fill the auction but not a blowout.

What yield means in practice

T-bills are zero-coupon instruments. You buy at a discount and receive face value at maturity. The yield tells you the annualized return.

For a 6-month T-bill at 1.47% cutoff (182 days):

• Face value: S$1,000
• Purchase price: approximately S$992.67
• At maturity (182 days later): you receive S$1,000
• Your return: S$7.33 on S$992.67 = ~1.47% annualized

For S$10,000 invested: you pay ~S$9,926.70 and receive S$10,000 after 6 months, earning ~S$73.30.

Settlement and trading

• Bids close around 12 noon on the auction day. Auction results are published that afternoon on MAS.
• Issue date is the first business day after the auction, at which point your funds are debited and the T-bill is credited to your CDP or CPFIS account.
• T-bills are tradable in the secondary market, so if you need to exit early you can — but at market price, which moves inversely to yield. For retail holders, selling typically happens in person at a DBS/OCBC/UOB branch rather than via a retail brokerage UI. For a 6-month bill held to maturity there’s no capital loss; sold early, there may be.
• CPFIS-OA eligible: you can buy with your CPF OA funds.
• Interest on SGS and T-bills is tax-exempt for Singapore-resident individuals under the Qualifying Debt Securities (QDS) scheme — except when derived through a partnership or trade/business.

Sources: MAS T-bill FAQ · MAS — tax treatment of SGS/MAS securities

T-bill vs SSB: when to pick which

Factor	T-bill	SSB
Best for	Known lock-in period	Flexible savings
Yield	Usually higher short-term	Step-up over 10 years
Early exit	Sell in secondary market (market price)	Redeem at face value
Minimum	S$1,000	S$500
Cap	S$1M per auction (non-comp)	S$200,000 total across issues
CPF OA funds	Yes	No
SRS funds	Yes	Yes

For a deeper comparison with current rates, see the SSB vs T-bill comparison page.

Auction schedule

MAS runs 6-month T-bill auctions roughly every two weeks and 1-year auctions roughly quarterly. The exact calendar is published on the MAS website, and we track it on the T-bill tracker page.

Upcoming auctions appear in the “Coming up” section on the home page when they’re in the data.

Read more: How SSB works | SSB vs T-bill decision guide