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 the short end of Singapore Government Securities (SGS) — 6-month and 1-year tenors, issued by MAS at a discount and redeemed at face value. The long end is SGS bonds (fixed-coupon, 2- to 50-year tenors, covered at /sgs/). Both share the same MAS auction format described below; the difference is the instrument, not the auction.

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 (BS26110S) priced at 1.45% cutoff (as of the last ingest). See the full auction details →

Uniform-price auction format

MAS uses a uniform-price auction (also called a Dutch auction). MAS auction notices describe this as a uniform-price auction with competitive (and non-competitive) bids. Mechanically:

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, “multiple price”) auction where each bidder pays the yield they bid. Uniform price is simpler and avoids the “winner’s curse.”

Note on “MAS Bills” vs T-bills. MAS issues two different instruments through the same auction format: Singapore T-bills (the retail-facing government debt covered in this article) and MAS Bills, which MAS issues for monetary policy operations. Both use the uniform-price auction with competitive and non-competitive bids; the difference is the issuer’s purpose, not the auction mechanic. T-bills are retail-accessible; MAS Bills are institutional instruments not offered through the retail purchase channels (DBS/POSB iBanking, OCBC, UOB, CPFIS).

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).

Retail investors typically use non-competitive bidding. A non-competitive bid receives the market-clearing yield without any auction-pricing risk (no chance 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

T-bills are on the approved instrument list for both CPFIS-OA and CPFIS-SA, subject to the usual floors:

• CPFIS-OA — only OA savings above S$20,000 can be invested. This makes T-bills an alternative to the CPF OA floor rate, currently 2.5% (Q2 2026; CPF rates are reviewed quarterly).
• CPFIS-SA — only SA savings above S$40,000 can be invested. T-bills compete against the higher SA floor rate, so the bar is steeper.

Important changes since January 2025: the Special Account was closed for members aged 55 and above. SA balances were transferred to the Retirement Account up to the Full Retirement Sum, with any excess flowing to the Ordinary Account. If you’re 55+, you no longer have an SA, so CPFIS-SA is not available — only the OA route applies.

In practice, T-bill subscription via CPFIS-SA is offered through your CPFIS agent bank (DBS, OCBC or UOB); availability and the exact application flow can differ between banks, so check with your bank before assuming it’s a one-click option.

Sources: CPF — interest rates from 1 Apr to 30 Jun 2026 · CPF — instruments that can be invested under CPFIS (PDF) · CPF — closure of Special Account for members 55 and above

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 1.45%. 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