UK to restart selling down stake in Lloyds Banking Group

LONDON:

The British government will restart selling down its 3.6 billion pound ($4.45 billion) stake in Lloyds Banking Group, the body set up to manage the process said yesterday, after it was delayed following the vote to leave the European Union. UK Financial Investments Limited, which manages the government’s stakes in the banks, said it has recommended scrapping plans to sell the remaining stake via a discounted public selloff.

“The design of the trading plan allows us to ensure that all sales will represent value for money for the taxpayer,” said James Leigh Pemberton of UKFI in the statement.

UKFI said the trading plan would last until the end of 6 October 2017 and the shares will be sold by Morgan Stanley. The government currently owns about 6.5 billion ordinary shares in the Lloyds, which represents about 9 percent of the bank’s shares.

Lloyds was rescued with a 20.5 billion pound taxpayer-funded bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, leaving the state holding 43 percent. The finance ministry began selling off its stake in September 2013. — Reuters