LONDON: Britain will sell more shares in Lloyds Banking Group over the next six months, moving the bailed-out bank another step towards a full return to private ownership and recouping more taxpayer cash.
Britain’s finance ministry and UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the Lloyds’ stake, said yesterday the shares would be sold by Morgan Stanley through a “pre-arranged trading plan”. “It is another step in reducing our national debt and in getting taxpayers’ money back,” Britain’s Finance Minister George Osborne said.
Britain currently holds a 25 percent stake, having raised £7.4bn through two share sales in September last year and March this year.
Sources said UKFI could sell around £3bn worth of shares under the plan, based on average trading volumes over the past 6 months. That would take the government’s stake down to around
19.5 percent. Reuters
