Noncompetitive bid

Investors who can't or don't wish to meet the minimum purchase requirements for competitive bidding on Treasury bills or notes may enter a noncompetitive bid.

You can invest as little as $1,000 or as much as $5 million in each new issue through Treasury Direct. Treasury Direct is a system that allows you to buy government securities without going through a bank or a brokerage firm.

The Treasury sells T-bills, for example, to all noncompetitive buyers whose bids arrive by the weekly deadline, for a price equal to what competitive bidders pay for that week's issue.

A noncompetitive bid may also be known as a noncompetitive tender.