Government cuts stake in Lloyds to below 4 per cent
The Government said yesterday it has further reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group, a day after the bank posted its highest profit since before the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. UK Financial Investments, which manages the Government's stake in the lender, said in a statement it has reduced its stake in the bank to 3.89 per cent.
Lloyds, which was rescued with a £20.5bn taxpayer bailout, is close to a complete recovery from its crisisera past after more than doubling its profit last year and setting aside a lower amount to cover misconduct issues. The bank has paid more than £17bn in compensation to customers wrongly sold PPI. The long-
running scandal now appears to be drawing to a close.
At the current sell-down rate, Lloyds should be fully returned to private ownership by May. The Government still holds more than 70 per cent in Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been hit by a string of charges and scandals that have suppressed the share price and made an imminent disposal look unlikely.