Government sells off further Lloyds shares
23/06/2015
The Government has sold more Lloyds shares to investors, taking its stake to below 17%.
During the 2008 financial crisis, the government paid £22.5 billion of tax payers money to own a 41% stake in the bank. In 2013, they started to sell shares to help return money to the tax payer. So far, £11.5 billion has been returned.
UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the firm responsible for handling the government's stakes in the privatised bank, has been gradually selling down the Treasury's stake in Lloyds. Investment bank Morgan Stanley handled the share sales, which brought the governments stake in the bank down to under 17%.
In a statement, Lloyds banking group has said:
"Today's announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back."
UKFI had a “trading plan” under which government-owned shares will be sold to big institutional investors. This was due to end at the end of June but has now been extended to 31st December. This is because the Treasury believe an extra six months with the plan would help Chancellor George Osborne's pledge to sell a further £9bn of Lloyds shares in 2015-16.
Before the general election, Mr Osborne announced that a shares would also be made available to the public, possibly this year.
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
UK inflation returns to positive
16/06/2015 The UKs inflation rate has returned to positive in May after one month of negative inflation, official figures have shown. Inflation rose to 0.1% in May, up from -0.1% in April, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The biggest contributor to this was the cost of transport, in particular air fares, as people book their summer holidays. When inflation dropped in Apr...
Read MoreECB begins to turn down the fiscal stimulus flame
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today begun to turn down the fiscal stimulus flame which has helped the European economy recover over the last few months. There has also been an increase in the forecast rate of economic growth for 2010 which is now expected to be in the region of 0.8%. It also appears that European interest rates will increase in the short to medium term as slowly but surely w...
Read MoreCBI calls for wage rises and more free childcare
10/11/2014 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believe more free childcare and tax cuts for the low paid are two of many measures that are needed in Britain to raise living standards. The CBI represents 190,000 businesses in Britain and is having their annual conference in London this week. The UK living standards and Britons place in the European Union (EU) are believed to be the i...
Read MoreWill unemployment peak at 2.8 million?
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have today issued a revised forecast regarding unemployment in UK with a suggestion it could peek at 2.8 million in 2010. While an increase from the current 2.5 million to 2.8 million would obviously be unwelcome, it is a sharp reduction in the Institute's initial forecast of 3.2 million peak. So is the UK economy recovering quicker than...
Read MoreUK base rates set to fall to 1%
As we await news of the MPC meeting on Thursday there is a general consensus across the board that UK base rates will fall by half a percent to 1%. However, on the eve of the MPC meeting a number of economists have come forward suggesting that interest-rate reductions will not stimulate the economy and it is consumer spending which needs to be addressed. The UK economy is forecast to fall by 2.7%...
Read More