Lloyds bank under pressure after Barclays share sale
The announcement of a major share sale by a significant Barclays bank shareholder has put the UK banking sector back under the spotlight. The £1.4 billion share sale by the Qatar Investment group has liquidated a profit of around £700 million but may have come at just the wrong time for Lloyds bank.
We saw the Barclays bank share price fall on the back of the share sale with many investors and analysts wondering if the banking sector has run its course for the time being. If this particular investment opinion continues to grow we could see share prices fall over the coming weeks at a time when Lloyds bank is looking to raise upwards of £10 billion. The company has struggled to gain support in the short to medium term as it is and further weakness in the UK stock market could cause real problems.
At the end of the day, if the Lloyds bank fund raising was for some reason delayed or withdrawn it seems inevitable that the UK government would be forced to step in and acquire additional shares, injecting further capital into the business. While this is not what Lloyds bank directors want, they may well have no other option.
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