356.12—What are the different types of bids and do they have specific requirements or restrictions?
(a) General.
All bids must state the par amount of securities bid for and must equal or exceed the minimum to bid amount stated in the auction announcement. Bids in larger amounts must be in the multiple stated in the auction announcement.
(b) Noncompetitive bids—
(1) Maximum bid.
You may not bid noncompetitively for more than $5 million. The maximum bid limitation does not apply if you are bidding solely through either a TreasuryDirect ® or a Legacy Treasury Direct ® reinvestment request. A request for reinvestment of securities maturing in either TreasuryDirect or Legacy Treasury Direct is a noncompetitive bid.
(2) Additional restrictions.
You may not bid noncompetitively in an auction in which you are bidding competitively. You may not bid noncompetitively if, in the security being auctioned, you hold a position in when-issued trading or in futures or forward contracts at any time between the date of the auction announcement and the time we announce the auction results. During this same timeframe, a noncompetitive bidder may not enter into any agreement to purchase or sell or otherwise dispose of the securities it is acquiring in the auction. For this paragraph, futures contracts include those:
(c) Competitive bids—
(1) Bid format—
A competitive bid must show the discount rate bid, expressed with three decimals in .005 increments. The third decimal must be either a zero or a five, for example, 5.320 or 5.325. We will treat any missing decimals as zero, for example, a bid of 5.32 will be treated as 5.320. The rate bid may be a positive number or zero.
(ii) Treasury fixed-principal securities.
A competitive bid must show the yield bid, expressed with three decimals, for example, 4.170. We will treat any missing decimals as zero, for example, a bid of 4.1 will be treated as 4.100. The yield bid may be a positive number or zero.
(iii) Treasury inflation-protected securities.
A competitive bid must show the real yield bid, expressed with three decimals, for example, 3.070. We will treat any missing decimals as zero, for example, a bid of 3 will be treated as 3.000. The real yield may be a positive number, a negative number, or zero.
(2) Maximum recognized bid.
There is no limit on the maximum dollar amount that you may bid for competitively, either at a single yield or discount rate, or at different yields or discount rates. However, a competitive bid at a single yield or discount rate that exceeds 35 percent of the offering amount will be reduced to that amount. For example, if the offering amount is $10 billion, the maximum bid amount we will recognize at any one yield or discount rate from any bidder is $3.5 billion. (See § 356.22 for award limitations.)
(3) Additional restrictions.
You may not bid competitively in an auction in which you are bidding noncompetitively. You may not bid competitively for securities to be bought through either TreasuryDirect or Legacy Treasury Direct.