Q: How do Treasury Bills work?

T-Bills are discount instruments, and they are so called because the investor gets its interest upfront. This means that the interest promised on a T-bill instrument is payable on the very day the investment commences. For instance, if a T-bill promises a 10.0% rate per annum and an investor wants to put in N100,000, the investor pays only N90,000 from the day of investment but gets back N100,000 at maturity. The maturity value (N100,000) is referred to as face value while the initial investment (N90,000) is discount value.