The government has sold a further 1% of Lloyds Banking Group, taking taxpayers’ stake in the bailed-out bank to less than 12%.
The sale reduces the government’s holding in Lloyds to 11.98% from 12.97% a month ago. The Treasury has raised £15bn from selling Lloyds shares and has used the money to pay off the national debt.
George Osborne, chancellor of the exchequer, said: “It’s fantastic news that we’ve sold more shares in Lloyds Bank, taking the total recovered to £15bn. I am determined to build on this success, and to continue to return Lloyds to the private sector.”
Lloyds needed £20.5bn of taxpayers’ money to avoid collapse at the peak of the financial crisis in October 2008. The bailout left the government with a 43% stake, which it plans to dispose of by next year. Taxpayers also ended up owning more than 80% of Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Treasury began selling off the Lloyds stake in September 2013 and has been feeding shares into the market through a trading plan since December 2014. The plan will end by December this year.
The government started selling its RBS stake at a loss last month. The Treasury committee has warned of the need for vigilance after it was revealed that Goldman Sachs and other investment banks were charging £1 for work on privatising the banks.
Such work would normally cost tens of millions of pounds, prompting MPs to question the motivation behind the investment banks’ apparent generosity.
